Sermons and Discourses Volume 3, Sermon 10
JOSHUA XXIV. 15.
And if it ſeem evil unto you to ſerve the Lord, chuſe you this day whom you will ſerve.
THeſe words, as I have already declared in the former Diſcourſe, are the laſt counſel and advice which Joſhua gave to the People of Iſrael, after he had ſafely conducted them into the Land of Canaan. And that he might more effectually perſwade them to continue ſtedfaſt in the worſhip of the true God, by an eloquent kind of inſinuation he doth as it were once more ſet them at liberty and leave them to their own choice; If it ſeem evil unto you to ſerve the Lord, chuſe you this day whom you will ſerve.
The plain ſenſe of which Words may be reſolved into this Propoſition, That notwithſtanding all the prejudices and objections againſt the true Religion, yet it hath thoſe real advantages on its ſide that it may ſafely be referred to any impartial and conſiderate man's choice; If it ſeem evil unto you to ſerve the Lord; intimating that to ſome perſons, and upon ſome accounts, it may ſeem ſo; but when the matter is throughly examined, the reſolution and choice cannot be difficult, nor require any long deliberation, Chuſe you this day whom you will ſerve.
The true Religion hath always layn under ſome prejudices with partial arid inconſiderate men, ariſing chiefly from theſe two Cauſes; the prepoſſeſſions of a falſe Religion; and the contrariety of the true Religion to the inclinations of men, and the uneaſineſs of it in point of practice.
Firſt, From the prepoſſeſſions of a falſe Religion; which hath always been wont to lay claim to Antiquity and Ʋniverſality, and to charge the true Religion with Novelty and Singularity. And both theſe are intimated before the Text; Put away the Gods whom your Fathers ſerved, on the other ſide of the Flood and in Egypt, and chuſe you this day whom you will ſerve. It was pretended that the worſhip of Idols was the ancient Religion of the world, of thoſe great Nations, the Egyptians and Chaldeans, and of all the Nations round about them. But this hath already been conſidered at large.
Secondly, There are another ſort of prejudices againſt Religion, more apt to ſtick with men of better ſenſe and reaſon; and theſe ariſe principally from the contrariety of the true Religion to the inclinations of men, and the uneaſineſs of it in point of practice. It is pretended that Religion is a heavy yoke, and lays too great a reſtraint upon humane Nature, and that the Laws of it bear too hard upon the general inclinations of mankind.
I ſhall not at preſent meddle with the ſpeculative Objections againſt Religion, upon account of the pretended unreaſonableneſs of many things in point of Belief: becauſe the contrariety of the true Religion to the inclinations of men, and the uneaſineſs of it in point of practice, is that which in truth lies at the bottom of Atheiſm and Inſidelity, and raiſes all that animoſity which is in the minds of bad men againſt Religion, and exaſperates them to oppoſe it with all their wit and malice: Men love darkneſs rather than light, becauſe their deeds are evil. And if this prejudice were but once removed, and men were in ſome meaſure reconciled to the practice of Religion, the ſpeculative Objections againſt it would almoſt vaniſh of themſelves: for there wants little elſe to enable a man to anſwer them, but a willingneſs of mind to have them anſwered, and that we have no intereſt and inclination to the contrary. And therefore I ſhall at preſent wholly apply my ſelf to remove this prejudice againſt Religion, from the contrariety of it to the inclinations of men, and the uneaſineſs of it in point of practice.
And there are two parts of this Objection.
1ſt. That a great part of the Laws of Religion do thwart the natural inclinations of men, which may reaſonably be ſuppoſed to be from God. And,
2ly. That all of them together are a heavy yoke, and do lay too great a reſtraint upon humane Nature, intrenching too much upon the pleaſures and liberty of it.
I. That a great part of the Laws of Religion do thwart the natural inclinations of men, which may reaſonably be ſuppoſed to be from God. So that God ſeems to have ſet our nature and our duty at variance, to have given us appetites and inclinations one way, and Laws another: which if it were true muſt needs render the practice of Religion very grievous and uneaſie.
The force of this Objection is very ſmartly expreſſed in thoſe celebrated Verſes of a Noble Poet of our own, which are ſo frequently in the mouths of many who are thought to bear no good will to Religion.
O weariſome condition of Humanity,
Born under one Law, to another bound;
Vainly begot, and yet forbidden Vanity;
Created ſick, commanded to be ſound.
If Nature did not take delight in blood,
She would have made more eaſie ways to good.
So that this Objection would ſain charge the ſins of men upon God; firſt upon account of the evil inclinations of our Nature; and then of the contrariety of our duty to thoſe inclinations. And from the beginning man hath always been apt to lay the blame of his faults where it can leaſt lye, upon goodneſs and perfection it ſelf. The very firſt ſin that ever man was guilty of he endeavoured to throw upon God: The woman whom thou gaveſt me (ſaith Adam) ſhe gave me of the tree, and I did eat: And his poſterity are ſtill apt to excuſe themſelves the ſame way. But to return a particular anſwer to this Objection.
1. We will acknowledge ſo much of it as is true; That there is a great degeneracy and corruption of humane Nature, from what it was originally framed when it came out of God's hands: of which the Scripture gives us this account, that it was occaſioned by the voluntary tranſgreſſion of a plain and eaſy Command given by God to our firſt Parents. And this weakneſs contracted by the fall of our firſt. Parents naturally deſcends upon us their Poſterity, and viſibly diſcovers it ſelf in our inclinations to evil, and impotence to that which is good.
And of this the heathen Philoſophers, from the light of nature, and their own experience and obſervation of themſelves and others, were very ſenſible; that humane Nature was very much declined from its primitive rectitude, and ſunk into a weak and drooping and ſickly State which they called a foreign, the moulting of the wings of the ſoul: But yet they were ſo juſt and reaſonable as not to charge this upon God, but upon ſome corruption and impurity contracted by the Soul in a former State, before its union with the Body. For the deſcent of the Soul into theſe groſs earthly Bodies they looked upon as partly the puniſhment of faults committed in a former State, and partly as the opportunity of a new tryal in order to its purgation and recovery. And this was the beſt account they were able to give of this matter, without the Light of Divine Revelation.
So that the degeneracy of humane Nature is univerſally acknowledged, and God acquitted from being the cauſe of it: But however, the poſterity of Adam do all partake of the weakneſs contracted by his fall, and do ſtill labour under the miſeries and inconveniences of it. But then this degeneracy is not total. For though our faculties be much weakned and diſordered, yet they are not deſtroyed nor wholly perverted. Our natural Judgment and Conſcience doth ſtill direct to us what is good, and what we ought to do; and the impreſſions of the natural Law, as to the great lines of our duty, are ſtill legible upon our hearts. So that the Law written in God's Word is not contrary to the Law written upon our hearts. And therefore it is not truly ſaid, that we are born under one Law and bound to another. But the great diſorder is, that our infeririour faculties, our ſenſitive appetite and paſſions, are broke looſe and have got head of our Reaſon, and are upon all occaſions apt to rebel I againſt it: but our Judgment ſtill dictates the very ſame things which the Law of God doth enjoyn.
It is likewiſe very viſible, that the ſad effects of this degeneracy do not appear equally and alike in all: whether from the better or worſe temper of our Bodies or from ſome other more ſecret cauſe, I ſhall not determine, becauſe I know not: But that there is a difference is evident. for though a proneneſs to evil, and ſome ſeeds of it be in all, yet we may plainly diſcover in many very early and forward inclinations to ſome kinds of vertue and goodneſs; which being cultivated by Education, may under the ordinary influence of God's grace be carried on with great caſe to great perfection.
And there are others who are not ſo ſtrongly bent to that which is evil, but that by good inſtruction and example in their tender years they may be ſwayed the other way, and without great difficulty formed to goodneſs.
There are ſome indeed (which is the hardeſt caſe) in whom there do very early appear ſtrong propenſions and inclinations to evil, eſpecially to ſome particular kinds of vice: But the caſe of theſe is not deſperate; though greater attention and care, and a much more prudent management is required in the education of ſuch perſons to correct their evil tempers, and by degrees to bend their inclinations the right way? and if the ſeeds of piety and vertue be but carefully ſown at firſt, very much may be done by this means, even in the moſt depraved Natures, towards the altering and changing of them; however, to the checking and controuling of their vicious inclinations. And if theſe perſons, when they come to riper years, would purſue theſe advantages of education, and take ſome pains with themſelves, and earneſtly ſeek the aſſiſtance of God's grace, I doubt not but even theſe perſons by degrees might at laſt get the maſtery of their unhappy tempers.
For next to the Being and perfections of God, and the immortality of our own Souls, there is no Principle of Religion that I do more firmly believe than this, that God hath that love for men that if we do heartily beg his aſſiſtance, and be not wanting to our ſelves, he will afford it to every one of us in proportion to our need of it; that he is always before hand with us, and prevents every man with the gracious offers of his help. And I doubt not but many very perverſe Natures have thus been reclaimed. For God, who is the Lover of Souls (as the Son of Sirach calls him) though he may put ſome men under more difficult circumſtances of becoming good than others, yet he leaves no man under a fatal neceſſity of being wicked and periſhing everlaſtingly. He tenderly conſiders every man's caſe and circumſtances, and it is we that pull deſtruction upon our ſelves, with the works of our own hands: But as ſure as God is good and juſt, no man in the world is ruined for want of having ſufficient help and aid afforded to him by God for his recovery.
2. It is likewiſe to be conſidered that God did not deſign to create man in the full poſſeſſion of happineſs at firſt, but to train him up to it by the tryal of his obedience. But there could be no tryal of our obedience without ſome difficulty in our duty: Either by reaſon of powerfull temptations from without, or of croſs and perverſe inclinations from within.
Our firſt Parents, in their ſtate of innocency, had only the tryal of temptation without; to which they yielded, and were overcome; having only a natural power to have reſiſted the temptation, without any aid of ſupernatural grace: And that weakneſs to good, and proneneſs to evil, which they by wilfull tranſgreſſion contracted, is naturally derived to us; and we neceſſarily partake of the bitterneſs and impurity of the Fountain from whence we ſpring. So that we now labour under a double difficulty; being aſſaulted by temptations from without, and incited by evil inclinations from within: But then, to balance theſe, we have a double advantage; that a greater reward is propoſed to us, than for ought we know would have been conferred on our firſt parents had they continued innocent; and that we are endued with a ſupernatural power to conflict with theſe difficulties. So that, according to the mercifull diſpenſation of God, all this conflict between our inclination and our duty does only ſerve to give a fairer opportunity for the fitting tryal of our obedience, and for the more glorious reward of it.
3. God hath provided an univerſal remedy for this degeneracy and weakneſs of humane Nature: So that what we loſt by the firſt Adam is abundantly repaired to us by the ſecond. This St. Paul tells us at large, Rom. 5. that as by one man ſin entered into the world, and death by ſin; ſo the Grace of God hath abounded to all men by Jeſus Chriſt: And that to ſuch a degree, as effectually to countervall the ill effects of original ſin, and really to enable men, if they be not wanting to themſelves, to maſter and ſubdue all the bad inclinations of nature, even in thoſe who ſeem to be naturally moſt corrupt and depraved.
And if this be true, we may without any reflexion upon God acknowledge, that though he did not at firſt create man ſick and weak, yet he having made himſelf ſo, his poſterity are born ſo: But then God hath not left us helpleſs in this weak and miſerable State, into which by wilfull tranſgreſſion mankind is fallen: But as he commands us to be ſound, ſo he affords us ſufficient aids of his grace by Jeſus Chriſt for our recovery.
And though there is a Law in our Members warring againſt the Law of our Minds, and captivating us to the Law of Sin and Death; i. e. though our ſenſitive appetite and paſſions are apt to rebell againſt the reaſon of our minds and the dictates of our natural Concience, yet every Chriſtian may ſay with St. Paul, thanks be to God, who hath given its the victory through our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, i. e. hath not left us deſtitute of a ſufficient aid and ſtrength to enable us to conquer the rebellious motions of ſin, by the powerfull aſſiſtance of that grace which is ſo plentifully offered to us in the Goſpel. And this is the caſe of all thoſe who live under the Goſpel: As for others, as their caſe is beſt known to God, ſo we have no reaſon to doubt but that his infinite goodneſs and mercy takes that care of them which becomes a mercifull Creatour: Though both the meaſures, and the methods of his mercy towards them are Secret and unknown to us.
4. The hardeſt conteſt between man's inclination and duty, is in thoſe who have wilfully contracted vicious habits, and by that means, rendred their duty much more difficult to themſelves; having greatly improved the evil inclinations of nature by wicked practice and cuſtom. For the Scripture plainly ſuppoſeth, that men may debauch even corrupt nature, and make themſelves ten fold more the Children of wrath and of the Devil than they were by Nature.
This is a caſe ſadly to be deplored, but yet not utterly to be deſpaired of. And therefore thoſe who by a long progreſs in an evil courſe, are plunged into this ſad condition, ought to conſider that they are not to be reſcued out of it by an ordinary reſolution, and a common grace of God. Their caſe plainly requires an extraordinary remedy. For he that is deeply engaged in vice is like a man laid faſt in a bogg, who by a faint and lazy ſtruggling to get out, does but ſpend his ſtrength to no purpoſe, and ſinks himſelf the deeper into it: The only way is, by a reſolute and vigorous effort to ſpring out, if poſſible, at once. And therefore in this caſe, to a vigorous reſolution there muſt be joyned an earneſt application to God for his powerfull grace and aſſiſtance, to help us out of this miſerable State. And if we be truly ſenſible of the deſperate danger of our condition, the preſſing neceſſity of our caſe will be apt to inſpire us with a mighty reſolution. For power and neceſſity are neighbours, and never dwell far aſunder. When men are ſorely urged and preſſed, they find a power in themſelves which they thought they had not. Like a coward driven up to a wall, who in the extremity of diſtreſs and deſpair will fight terribly and perform wonders: or like a man lame of the Gout, who being aſſaulted by a preſent and terrible danger forgets his Diſeaſe, and will find his legs rather than loſe his life.
And in this, I do not ſpeak above the rate of humane Nature, and what men throughly rouſed and awakened to a ſenſe of their danger, by a mighty reſolution may morally do, through that Divine grace and aſſiſtance which is ever ready to be afforded to well reſolved minds, and ſuch as are ſincerely bent to return to God and their Duty. More than this I cannot ſay for the encouragement of thoſe who have proceeded far in an evil courſe: And they who have made their caſe ſo very deſperate, ought to be very thankfull to God that there is any remedy left for them.
5. From all that hath been ſaid, it evidently appears, how malicious a ſuggeſtion it is, that God ſeeks the deſtruction of men, and hath made his Laws on purpoſe ſo difficult and croſs to our inclinations that he might have an advantage to ruine us for our diſobedience to them. Alas, we are ſo abſolutely under the Power of God, and ſo unable to withſtand it, that he may deſtroy us when he pleaſeth, without ſeeking pretences for it: For who hath reſiſted his will? If goodneſs were not his nature, he hath power enough to bear out whatever he hath a mind to do to us. But our deſtruction is plainly of our ſelves, and God is free from the bloud of all men. And he hath not made the way to Eternal Life ſo difficult to any of us, with a deſign to make us miſerable, but that we by a vigorous reſolution, and an unwearied diligence, and a patient continuance in well doing, might win and wear a more glorious Crown, and be fit to receive a more ample reward from his bounty and goodneſs: yea, in ſome ſenſe, I may ſay, from his juſtice; For God is not unrighteous, to forget our work and labour and love. He will fully conſider all the pains that any of us take in his ſervice, and all the difficulties that we ſtruggle with out of love to God and claſhing of our duty with our inclination, is I hope fully anſwered: Since God hath provided ſo powerfull and effectual a remedy againſt our natural impotency and infirmity, by the Grace of the Goſpel.
And though to thoſe who have wilfully contracted vicious habits a religious and vertuous courſe of life be very difficult, yet the main difficulty lyes in our firſt entrance upon it; And when that is over, the ways of goodneſs are as eaſy as it is ſit any thing ſhould be that is ſo excellent, and that hath the encouragement of ſo glorious a reward. Cuſtome will reconcile men almoſt to any thing: but there are thoſe charms in the ways of wiſedom and vertue, that a little acquaintance and converſation with them will ſoon make them more delightfull than any other courſe. And who would grudge any pains and trouble to bring himſelf into ſo ſafe and happy a condition: After we have tryed both courſes, of Religion and Profaneneſs, of Vertue and Vice, we ſhall certainly find, that nothing is ſo wiſe, ſo eaſie, and ſo comfortable as to be vertuous we are inwardly convinced we ought to do. Nor would I deſire more of any man in this matter, than to follow the ſobereſt convictions of his own mind, and to do that which upon the moſt ſerious conſideration at all times, in proſperity and affliction, in ſickneſs and health, in the time of life and at the hour of death, he judgeth wiſeſt and ſafeſt for him to do. I proceed to the
Branch of the Objection; that the Laws of Religion (and particularly of the Chriſtian Religion) are a heavy yoke, laying too great a reſtraint upon humane nature, and entrenching too much upon the pleaſures and liberty of it.
There was, I confeſs, ſome pretence for this Objection againſt the Jewiſh Religion; which by the multitude of its poſitive Inſtitutions and external obſervances muſt needs have been very burthenſome. And the ſame Objection lyes againſt the Church of Rome, who (as they have handled Chriſtianity) by the unreaſonable number of their needleſs and ſenſeleſs Ceremonies, have made the yoke of Chriſt heavier than that of Moſes, and the Goſpel a more carnal Commandment than the Law. So that Chriſtianity is loſt among them in the trappings and accoutrements of it: with which inſtead of adorning Religion they have ſtrangely diſguiſed it, and quite ſtifled it in the crowd of external Rites and Ceremonies.
But the pure Chriſtian Religion, as it was delivered by our Saviour, hath hardly any thing in it that is poſitive; except the two Sacraments, which are not very troubleſome neither, but very much for our comfort and advantage, becauſe they convey and confirm to us the great bleſſings and privileges of our Religion. In other things, Chriſtianity hath hardly impoſed any other Laws upon us but what are enacted in our Natures, or are agreeable to the prime and fundamental Laws of it: nothing but what every man's reaſon either dictates to him to be neceſſary, or approves as highly fit and reaſonable.
But we do moſt groſly miſtake the nature of pleaſure and liberty, if we promiſe them to our ſelves in any evil and wicked courſe. For, upon due ſearch and tryal it will be found, that true pleaſure, and perfect freedom, are no where to be found but in the practice of vertue, and in the ſervice of God. The Laws of Religion do not abridge us of any pleaſure that a wiſe man can deſire, and ſafely enjoy, I mean without a greater evil and trouble conſequent upon it. The pleaſure of commanding our appetites, and governing our paſſions, by the rules of Reaſon (which are the Laws of God) is infinitely to be preferred before any ſenſual pleaſure whatſoever: Becauſe it is the pleaſure of wifedom and diſcretion; and gives us the ſatisfaction of having done that which is beſt and fitteſt for reaſonable Creatures to do. Who would not rather chuſe to govern himſelf as Scipio did, amidſt all the temptations and opportunities of ſenſual pleaſure which his power and victories preſented to him, than to wallow in all the delights of ſenſe?
Nothing is more certain in reaſon and experience, than that every inordinate appetite and affection is a puniſhment to it ſelf; and is perpetually croſſing its own pleaſure, and defeating its own ſatisfaction, by over-ſhooting the mark it aims at. For inſtance, Intemperance in eating and drinking, inſtead of delighting and ſatisfying nature, doth but load and cloy it; and inſtead of quenching a natural thirſt, which it is extremely pleaſant to do, creates an unnatural one, which is troubleſome and endleſs. The pleaſure of Revenge, as ſoon as it is executed, turns into grief and pity, guilt and remorſe, and a thouſand melancholy wiſhes that we had retrained our ſelves from ſo unreaſonable an Act. And the ſame is as evident in other ſenſual exceſſes, not ſo fit to be dedeſcribed. We may truſt Epicurus for this, that there can be no true pleaſure without temperance in the uſe of pleaſure. And God and Reaſon have ſet us no other bounds concerning the uſe of ſenſual pleaſures, but that we take care not to be injurious to our ſelves, or others, in the kind, or degree of them. And it is very viſible, that all ſenſual exceſs is naturally attended with a double inconvenience: As it goes beyond the limits of nature, it begets bodily pains and diſeaſes: As it tranſgreſſeth the rules of Reaſon and Religion, it breeds guilt and remorſe in the mind. And theſe are, beyond compariſon, the two greateſt evils in this world: a diſeaſed body, and a diſcontented mind, And in this I am ſure I ſpeak to the inward feeling and experience of men; and ſay nothing but what every vicious man finds, and hath a more lively ſenſe of, than is to be expreſſed by words.
When all is done, there is no pleaſure comparable to that of Innocency, and freedom from the ſtings of a guilty conſcience: This is a pure and ſpiritual pleaſure, much above any ſenſual delight. And yet among all the delights of ſenſe, that of health (which is the natural conſequent of a ſober, and cha…te, and regular life) is a ſenſual pleaſure far beyond that of any Vice: For it is the life of life; and that which gives a gratefull reliſh to all our other enjoyments. It is not indeed ſo violent and tranſporting a pleaſure, but it is pure, and even, and laſting, and hath no guilt and regret, no ſorrow and trouble in it, or after it: which is a worm that infallibly breeds in all vicious and unlawfull pleaſures, and makes them to be bitterneſs in the end.
All the ways of ſin are ſo beſet with thorns and difficulties on every ſide, there are ſo many unanſwerable objections againſt Vice, from the unreaſonableneſs and uglineſs of it, from the remorſe that attends it, from the endleſs miſery that follows it, that none but the raſh and inconſiderate can obtain leave of themſelves to commit it. It is the Daughter of inadvertency, and blindneſs, and folly; and the Mother of guilt, and repentance, and woe. There is no pleaſure that will hold out and abide with us to the laſt, but that of Innocency and well-doing. All ſin is folly; and as Seneca truly ſays, omnis ſtultitia laborat faſtidio ſui; all folly ſoon grows ſick and weary of it ſelf. The pleaſure of it is ſlight and ſuperficial, but the trouble and remorſe of it pierceth our very hearts.
And then as to the other part of the Objection, That Religion reſtrains us of our liberty: The contrary is moſt evidently true, that ſin and vice are the greateſt ſlavery. For he is truly a ſlave, who is not at liberty to follow his own judgment, and to do thoſe things which he is inwardly convinced it is beſt for him to do: but is ſubject to the unreaſonable commands, and the tyrannical power and violence of his luſts and paſſions: So that he is not maſter of himſelf, but other Lords have got dominion over him, and he is perfectly at their beck and command. One vice or paſſion bids him go, and he goes; another come, and he comes; and a third, do this, and he doth it. The man is at perpetual variance with his own mind, and continually committing the things which he condemns in himſelf. And it is all one, whether a man be ſubject to the will and humour of another perſon, or to his own luſts and paſſions. Only this of the two is the worſe; becauſe the Tyrant is at home, and always ready at hand to domineer over him: he is got within him, and ſo much the harder to be vanquiſhed and overcome.
But the ſervice of God, and obedience to his Laws is perfect liberty. Becauſe the Law of God requires nothing of us, but what is recommended to us by our own reaſon and from the benefit and advantage of doing it: nothing but what is much more for our own intereſt to do it, than it can be for God's to command it. And if in ſome things God exact obedience of us more indiſpenſibly, and under ſeverer penalties, it is becauſe thoſe things are in their Nature more neceſſary to our felicity. And how could God poſſibly have dealt more graciouſly and kindly with us, than to oblige us moſt ſtrictly to that which is moſt evidently for our good: and to make ſuch Laws for us, as if we live in obedience to them will infallibly make us happy. So that taking all things into conſideration, the intereſt of our bodies and our ſouls, of the preſent and the future, of this world and the other, Religion is the moſt reaſonable and wiſe, the moſt comfortable and compendious courſe that any man can take in order to his own happineſs.
The conſideration whereof ought to be a mighty endearment of our duty to us, and a moſt prevalent argument with us to yield a ready and chearfull obedience to the Laws of God; which are in truth ſo many acts of grace and favour to mankind, the real privileges of our nature, and the proper means and cauſes of our happineſs: And do reſtrain us from nothing, but from doing miſchief to our ſelves, from playing the fools and making our ſelves miſerable.
And therefore inſtead of oppoſing Religion, upon pretence of the unreaſonable reſtraints of it, we ought to thank God heartily, that he hath laid ſo ſtrict an obligation upon us to regard and purſue our true intereſt; and hath been pleaſed to take that care of us, as to ſet bounds to our looſe and wild appetites by our duty; and in giving us rules to live by, hath no ways complyed with our inconſiderate and fooliſh inclinations, to our real harm and prejudice: But hath made thoſe things neceſſary for us to do, which in all reſpects are beſt for us; and which, if we were perfectly left to our own liberty, ought in all reaſon to be our free and firſt choice: And hath made the folly and inconvenience of ſin ſo groſly palpable, that every man may ſee it beforehand that will but conſider, and at the beginning of a bad courſe look to the end of it: and they that will not conſider, ſhall be forced from wofull experience at laſt to acknowledge it, when they find the diſmal effects and miſchievous conſequences of their vices ſtill meeting them at one turn or other.
And now, by all that hath been ſaid upon this Argument, I hope we are ſatisfied that Religion is no ſuch intolerable yoke; and that upon a due and full conſideration of things it cannot ſeem evil unto any of us to ſerve the Lord: nay, on the contrary, that it is abſolutely neceſſary, both to our preſent peace and our future felicity: And that a religious and vertuous life is not only upon all accounts the moſt prudent, but after we are entred upon it, and accuſtomed to it, the moſt pleaſant courſe that any man can take: and however inconſiderate men may complain of the reſtraints of Religion that it is not one jot more our duty, than it is our privilege and our happineſs.
And I cannot think that upon ſober conſideration any man could ſee reaſon to thank God to be releaſed from any of his Laws, or to have had the contrary to them enjoyned. Let us ſuppoſe, that the Laws of God had been juſt the Reverſe of what they now are; that he had commanded us, under ſevere penalties, to deal falſly and fraudulently with our neighbour; to demean our ſelves ungratefully to our beſt friends and benefactors; to be drunk every day, and to purſue ſenſual pleaſures to the endangering of our health and life: How ſhould we have complained of the unreaſonableneſs of theſe Laws, and have murmured at the ſlavery of ſuch intolerable impoſitions? And yet now that God hath commanded us the contrary, things every way agreeable to our reaſon and intereſt, we are not pleaſed neither. What will content us? As our Saviour expoſtulates in a like caſe, whereunto ſhall I liken this generation? It is like unto Children playing in the Market-place, and calling unto their Companions, we have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned, and ye have not lamented. This is perfectly childiſh, to be pleaſed with nothing; neither to like this, nor the contrary. We are not contented with the Laws of God as they are, and yet the contrary to them we ſhould have eſteemed the greateſt grievance in the World.
And if this be true that the Laws of God, how contrary ſoever to our vicious inclinations, are really calculated for our benefit and advantage, it would almoſt be an affront to wiſe and conſiderate men to importune them to their intereſt; and with great earneſtneſs to perſuade them to that which in all reſpects is ſo viſibly for their advantage. Chuſe you therefore this day whom you will ſerve; God, or your luſts. And take up a ſpeedy reſolution in a matter of ſo great and preſſing a concernment; chuſe you this day.
Where there is great hazard in the doing of a thing, it is good to deliberate long before we undertake it: but where the thing is not only ſafe but beneficial, and not only hugely beneficial but highly neceſſary; when our life and our happineſs depends upon it, and all the danger lies in the delay of it; there we cannot be too ſudden in our reſolution, nor too ſpeedy in the execution of it. That which is evidently ſafe, needs no deliberation; and that which is abſolutely neceſſary, will admit of none.
Therefore reſolve upon it out of hand; to day, whileſt it is called to day, leſt dny of you be hardened through the deceitfulneſs of ſin. In the days of your youth and health; for that is the acceptable time, that is the day of ſalvation: Before the evil day comes, and you be driven to it by the terrible apprehenſion and approach of death, when men fly to God only for fear of his wrath. For the greateſt Atheiſts and Infidels, when they come to dye (if they have any of that reaſon left, which they have uſed ſo ill) have commonly right opinions about God and Religion. For then the conſidence as well as the comfort of Atheiſm leaves them, as the Devil uſes to do Witches when they are in diſtreſs. Then with Nebuchadnezzar, when they are recovered from being beaſts, they look up to heaven and their understanding returns to them: Then they believe a God, and cannot help it: they believe, and tremble at the thoughts of him. Thus Lucretius, one of their great Authors, obſerves, that when men are in diſtreſs, Acrius advertunt animos ad Religionem,
The thoughts of Religion are then more quick and pungent upon their minds,
Nam verae voces tum demum pectore ab imo
Eliciuntur, & eripitur perſona, manet res.
Mens words then come from the bottom of their hearts; the mask is taken off, and things then appear as in truth they are.
But then perhaps it may be too late to make this choice: Nay then it can hardly be choice, but neceſſity. Men do not then chuſe to ſerve the Lord, but they are urged and forced to it by their fears. They have ſerved their luſts all their life long, and now they would fain ſerve themſelves of God at the hour of death. They have done what they can, by their inſolent contempt and defiance of the Almighty, to make themſelves miſerable; and now that they can ſtand out no longer againſt him, they are contented at laſt to be beholding to him to make them happy. The mercies of God are vaſt and boundleſs, but yet methinks it is too great a preſumption in all reaſon, for men to deſign before-hand to make the mercy of God the ſanctuary and retreat of a ſinfull life.
To draw then to a Concluſion of this Diſcourſe. If ſafety, or pleaſure, or liberty, or wiſdom, or vertue, or even happineſs it ſelf have any temptation in them, Religion hath all theſe baits and allurements. What Tully ſays Philoſophy is much more true of the Chriſtian Religion, the Wiſdom and Philoſophy which is from above; nunquam ſatis laudari poterit, cui qui pareat, omne tempus aetatis ſine moleſtia degere poſſit. We can never praiſe it enough, ſince whoever lives according to the rules of it, may paſs the whole age of his life (I may add, his whole duration, this life and the other) without trouble.
Philoſophy hath given us ſeveral plauſible rules for the attaining of peace and tranquility of mind, but they fall very much ſhort of bringing men to it. The very beſt of them fail us upon the greateſt occaſions. But the Chriſtian Religion hath effectually done all that which Philoſophy pretended to, and aimed at. The Precepts and Promiſes of the Holy Scriptures are every way ſufficient for our comfort, and for our inſtruction in righteouſneſs: to correct all the errours, and to bear us up under all the evils and adverſities of humane life: eſpecially that holy and heavenly Doctrine which is contained in the admirable Sermons of our Saviour, quem cum legimus, quem Philoſophum non contemnimus? whoſe excellent diſcourſes when we reade, what Philoſopher do we not deſpiſe? None of the Philoſophers could, upon ſure grounds, give that encouragement to their Scholars which our Saviour does to his Diſciples; take my yoke upon you, and learn of me, and ye ſhall find reſt to your ſouls. For my yoke is eaſie, and my burthen is light.
This is the advantage of the Chriſtian Religion ſincerely believed and practiſed, that it gives perfect reſt and tranquillity to the mind of man: It frees us from the guilt of an evil conſcience, and from the power of our luſts, and from the ſlaviſh fear of death and of the vengeance of another World. It builds our comfort upon a rock, which will abide all ſtorms, and remain unſhaken in every condition, and will laſt and hold out for ever: He that heareth theſe ſayings of mine, and doth them (ſaith our Lord) I will liken him to a wiſe wan, who built his houſe upon a rock.
In ſhort, Religion makes the life of man a wiſe deſign, regular and conſtant to its ſelf; becauſe it unites all our reſolutions and actions in one great end: Whereas without Religion the life of man is a wild, and fluttering, and inconſiſtent thing, without any certain ſcope and deſign. The vicious man lives at randome, and acts by chance: For he that walks by no rule can carry on no ſettled and ſteady deſign. It would pity a man's heart to ſee, how hard ſuch men are put to it for diverſion, and what a burden time is to them; and how ſolicitous they are to deviſe ways, not to ſpend it but to ſquander it away. For their great grievance is conſideration, and to be obliged to be intent upon any thing that is ſerious. They hurry from one vanity and folly to another; and plunge themſelves into drink, not to quench their thirſt, but their guilt: and are beholding to every vain man, and to every trifling occaſion, that can but help to take time off their hands. Wretched and inconſiderate men! who have ſo vaſt a work before them, the happineſs of all eternity to take care of and provide for, and yet are at a loſs how to employ their time! So that Irreligion and Vice makes life an extravagant and unnatural thing, becauſe it perverts and overthrows the natural courſe and order of things. For inſtance; according to nature men labour to get an Eſtate, to free themſelves from temptations to rapine and injury; and that they may have wherewithall to ſupply their own wants, and to relieve the needs of others. But now the covetous man heaps up Riches, not to enjoy them, but to have them; and ſtarves himſelf in the midſt of plenty, and moſt unnaturally cheats and robbs himſelf of that which is his own; and makes a hard ſhift to be as poor and miſerable with a great Eſtate, as any man can be without it. According to the deſign of nature, men ſhould eat and drink that they may live; but the voluptuous man onelyonly lives that he may eat and drink. Nature in all ſenſual enjoyments deſigns pleaſure, which may certainly be had within the limits of vertue: But vice raſhly purſues pleaſure into the enemies quarters; and never ſtops, till the ſinner be ſurrounded and ſeized upon by pain and torment.
So that take away God and Religion, and men live to no purpoſe; without propoſing any worthy and conſiderable end of life to themſelves. Whereas the fear of God, and the care of our immortal Souls, fixeth us upon one great deſign, to which our whole life, and all the actions of it are ultimately referr'd, ubi unus Deus colitur (ſaith Lactantius) ibi vita, & omnis actus, ad unum caput, & ad unam ſummam refertur; when we acknowledge God as the Author of our Being, as our Sovereign, and our Judge, our end and our happineſs is then fixed; and we can have but one reaſonable deſign, and that is, by endeavouring to pleaſe God to gain his favour and protection in this World, and to arrive at the bliſsfull enjoyment of him in the other: In whoſe preſence is fullneſs of Joy; and at whoſe right hand are pleaſures for evermore. To Him, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoſt, be all honour and glory, dominion and power, now and for ever. Amen.