Discourses of the Great Duties of Natural Religion, Sermon 13
SERMON XIII.
Practice in Religion neceſſary in proportion to our Knowledge.
LUKE XII. 47, 48.
And that Servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himſelf, neither did according to his will, ſhall be beaten with many ſtripes: But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of ſtripes, ſhall be beaten with few ſtripes; for unto whomſoever much is given, of him ſhall be much required; and to whom Men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
IN proſecution of the Argument which I handled in my laſt Diſcourſe, namely, that the Knowledge of our Duty, without the Practice of it, will not bring us to Happineſs, I ſhall proceed to ſhew, that if our Practice be not anſwerable to our Knowledge, this will be a great aggravation both of our Sin and Puniſhment.
And to this purpoſe, I have pitched upon theſe words of our Lord, which are the application of two Parables, which he had delivered before, to ſtir up Men to a diligent and careful Practice of their Duty, that ſo they may be in a continual readineſs and preparatio… for the coming of their Lord. The firſt Parable is more general, and concerns all Men, who are repreſented as ſo many Servants in a great Family, from which the Lord is abſent, and they being uncertain of the time of his return, ſhould always be in a condition and poſture to receive him. Upon the hearing of this Parable, Peter enquires of our Saviour, whether he intended this only for his Diſciples, or for all? To which Queſtion our Saviour returns an Anſwer in another Parable, which more particularly concerned them; who becauſe they were to be the Chief Rulers and Governours of his Church, are repreſented by the Stewards of a great Family, Ver. 42. Who then is that faithful and wiſe Steward, whom his Lord ſhall make Ruler over his houſehold, to give them their portion of meat in due ſeaſon? If he diſcharge his Duty, bleſſed is he; but if he ſhall take occaſion in his Lord's abſence, to domineer over his fellow Servants, and riotouſly to waſte his Lords goods, his Lord, when he comes, will puniſh him after a more ſevere and exemplary manner.
And then follows the application of the whole, in the words of the Text, And that Servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himſelf, neither did according to his will, ſhall be beaten with many ſtripes. As if he had ſaid, and well may ſuch a Servant deſerve ſo ſevere a Puniſhment, who having ſuch a truſt committed to him, and knowing his Lord's will ſo much better, yet does contrary to it; upon which our Saviour takes occaſion to compare the Fault and Puniſhment of thoſe who have greater advantages and opportuniti…s of knowing their Duty, with thoſe wh… are ignorant of it; That Servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himſelf, neither did according to it, ſhall be beaten with many ſtripes: but he that knew not, but did commit things worthy of ſtripes, ſhall be beaten with few ſtripes. And then he adds the Reaſon and the Equity of this proceeding, For unto whomſoever much is given, of him ſhall be much required; and to whom Men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.
The Words in general do allude to that Law of the Jews, mentioned Deut. 25. 2. where the Judge is required to ſe… the Malefactor puniſh'd according to his Fault, by a certain number of Stripes; in relation to which known Law among the Jews, our Saviour here ſays, that thoſe who knew their Lord's will, and did it not, ſhould be beaten with many ſtripes: but thoſe who knew it not, ſhould be beaten with few ſtripes. So that there are two Obſervations lie plainly before us in the words.
Firſt, That the greater Advantages and Opportunities and Man hath of knowing his Duty, if he do it not, the greater will be his Condemnation; The Servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himſelf, neither did according to it, ſhall be beaten with many ſtripes.
Secondly, That ignorance is a great excuſe of Mens faults, and will leſſen their Puniſhment; But he that knew not, but did commit things worthy of ſtripes, ſhall be beaten with few ſtripes.
I ſhall begin with the latter of theſe firſt, becauſe it will make way for the other; Viz. That ignorance is a great excuſe of Men's faults, and will leſſen their Puniſhment; He that knew not, but did commit things worthy of ſtripes, ſhall be beaten with few ſtripes.
For the clearing of this, it will be requiſite to conſider what ignorance it is which our Saviour here ſpeaks of; and this is neceſſary to be enquired into, becauſe it is certain that there is ſome ſort of ignorance which doth wholly excuſe and clear from all manner of guilt; and there is another ſort, which doth either not at all, or very little extenuate the faults of Men, ſo that it muſt be a third ſort, different from both theſe, which our Saviour here means.
Firſt, There is an ignorance which doth wholly excuſe and clear from all manner of guilt, and that is an abſolute and invincible ignorance, when a Perſon is wholly ignorant of the thing, which if he knew, he ſhould be bound to do, but neither can nor could have helpt it, that he is ignorant of it; that is, he either had not the Capacity, or wanted the Means and Opportunity of knowing it. In this Caſe a Perſon is in no fault, if he did not do what he never knew, nor could know to be his Duty. For God meaſures the faults of Men by their Wills, and if there be no defect there, there can be no guilt; for no Man is guilty, but he that is conſcious to himſelf that he would not do what he knew he ought to do, or would do what he knew he ought not to do. Now if a Man be ſimply and invincibly ignorant of his Duty, his neglect of it is altogether involuntary; for the Will hath nothing to do, where the Underſtanding doth not firſt direct. And this is the Caſe of Children who are not yet come to the uſe of Reaſon; for tho' they may do that which is materially a fault, yet it is none in them, becauſe by reaſon of their incapacity, they are at preſent invincibly ignorant of what they ought to do. And this is the Caſe likewiſe of Ideots, who are under a natural incapacity of Knowledge, and ſo far as they are ſo, nothing that they do is imputed to them as a fault. The ſame may be ſaid of diſtracted Perſons, who are deprived either wholly, or at ſome times, of the uſe of their Underſtandings; ſo far, and ſo long as they are thus deprived, they are free from all guilt; and to Perſons who have the free and perfect uſe of their Reaſon, no neglect of any Duty is imputed, of which they are abſolutely and invincibly ignorant. For inſtance, it is a Duty incumbent upon all Mankind, to believe in the Son of God, where he is ſufficiently manifeſted and revealed to them; but thoſe who never heard of him, nor had any opportunity of coming to the Knowledge of him, ſhall not be Condemned for this infidelity, becauſe it is impoſſible they ſhould believe on him, of whom they never heard; they may indeed be Condemned upon other accounts, for …inning againſt the light of Nature, and for not obeying the Law which was written in their hearts; for what the Apoſtle ſays of the Revelation of the Law, is as true of any other Revelation of God, As many as have ſinned without Law, ſhall alſo periſh without Law; and as many as have ſinned under the Law, ſhall be judged by the Law, Rom. 2. 12. In like manner, thoſe who have …inned without the Goſpel, (that is, who never had the knowledge of it) ſhall not be Condemned for any offence againſt that Revelation which was never made to them, but for their violation of the Law of Nature; only they that have ſinned under the Goſpel, ſhall be judged by it.
Secondly, there is likewiſe another ſort of ignorance, which either does not at all, or very little extenuate the faults of Men, when Men are not only ignorant, but chuſe to be ſo; that is, when they wilfully neglect thoſe Means and Opportunities of knowledge which are afforded to them; ſuch as Job ſpeaks of, Job 21. 14. Who ſay unto God depart from us, for we deſire not the knowledge of thy ways. And this ſort of ignorance many among the Jews were guilty of, when our Saviour came and preached to them, but they would not be inſtructed by him; The light came among them, but they loved darkneſs rather than light, as he himſelf ſays of them; and as he ſays elſewhere of the Phariſees, They rejected the Counſel of God againſt themſelves, they wilfully ſhut their eyes againſt that light which offered it ſelf to them; They would not ſee with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor underſtand with their hearts, that they might be converted, and healed. Now an ignorance in this degree wilful, can hardly be imagined to carry any excuſe at all in it. He that knew not his Lord's Will, becauſe he would not know it, becauſe he wilfully rejected the Means of coming to the knowledge of it, deſerves to be beaten with as many ſtripes, as if he had known it; becauſe he might have known it, and would not. He that will not take notice of the King's Proclamation, or will ſtop his ears when it is read, and afterwards offends againſt it, does equally deſerve puniſhment with thoſe who have read it, and heard it; and diſobey'd it, becauſe he was as groſly faulty in not knowing it; and there is no reaſon that any Man's groſs fault ſhould be his excuſe.
So that it is neither of theſe ſorts of ignorance that our Saviour means, neither abſolute and invincible ignorance, nor that which is groſly wilful and affected; for the firſt, Men deſerve not to be beaten at all, becauſe they cannot help it; for the latter they deſerve not to be excuſed, becauſe they might have helped their ignorance, and would not.
But our Saviour here ſpeaks of ſuch an ignorance as does in a good degree extenuate the fault, and yet not wholly excuſe it; for he ſays of them, that they knew not their Lord's will, and yet that this ignorance did not wholly excuſe them from blame, nor exempt them from puniſhment, but they ſhould be beaten with few ſtripes. In the
Third place then, there is an ignorance which is in ſome degree faulty, and yet does in a great meaſure excuſe the faults which proceed from it; and this is when Men are not abſolutely ignorant of their Duty, but only in compariſon of others, who have a far more clear and diſtinct Knowledge of it; and tho' they do not groſly and wilfully neglect the Means of further Knowledge, yet perhaps they do not make the beſt uſe they might of the opportunities they have of knowing their Duty better; and therefore in compariſon of others, who have far better Means and Advantages of knowing their Lord's Will, they may be ſaid not to know it, tho' they are not ſimply ignorant of it, but only have a more obſcure and uncertain knowledge of it. Now this ignorance does in a great meaſure excuſe ſuch Perſons, and extenuate their Crimes, in compariſon of thoſe who had a clearer and more perfect knowledge of their Maſter's Will; and yet it does not free them from all guilt; becauſe they did not live up to that degree of knowledge which they had; and perhaps if they had uſed more care and induſtry, they might have known their Lord's Will better. And this was the Caſe of the Heathen, who in compariſon of thoſe who enjoyed the light of the Goſpel, might be ſaid not to have known their Lord's Will, tho' as to many parts of their Duty, they had ſome directions from Natural Light, and their Conſciences did urge them to many things by the obſcure apprehenſions and hopes of a Future Reward, and the fear of a Future Puniſhment. But this was but a very obſcure and uncertain knowledge, in compariſon of the clear Light of the Goſpel, which hath diſcovered to us our Duty ſo plainly by the Laws and Precepts of it, and hath preſented us with ſuch powerful Motives and Arguments to Obedience in the Promiſes and Threatnings of it. And this likewiſe is the Caſe of many Chriſtians, who either through the natural ſlowneſs of their Underſtandings, or by the neglect of their Parents and Teachers, or other Circumſtances of their Education, have had far leſs Means and Advantages of Knowledge than others. God does not expect ſo much from thoſe, as from others, to whom he hath given greater Capacity, and Advantages of Knowledge; and when our Lord ſhall come to call his Servants to an account, they ſhall be beaten with fewer ſtripes than others; they ſhall not wholly eſcape, becauſe they were not wholly ignorant; but by how much they had leſs Knowledge than others, by ſo much their Puniſhment ſhall be lighter.
And there is all the Equity in the World it ſhould be ſo, that Men ſhould be accountable according to what they have received, and that to whom leſs is given, leſs ſhould be required at their hands. The Scripture hath told us, that God will judge the World in Righteouſneſs; now Juſtice does require, that in taxing the Puniſhment of Offenders, every thing ſhould be conſider'd, that may be a juſt excuſe and extenuation of their Crimes, and that accordingly their Puniſhment ſhould be abated. Now the greateſt extenuation of any fault is ignorance, which when it proceeds from no fault of ours, no fault can proceed from it; ſo that ſo far as any Man is innocently ignorant of his Duty, ſo far he is excuſable for the neglect of it; for every degree of ignorance takes off ſo much from the perverſeneſs of the will; & nihil ardet in inferno, niſi propria voluntas, Nothing is puniſht in Hell, but what is voluntary, and proceeds from our Wills.
I do not intend this Diſcourſe for any commendation of Ignorance, or encouragement to it. For Knowledge hath many advantages above it, and is much more deſirable, if we uſe it well; and if we do not, it is our own fault; if we be not wanting to our ſelves, we may be much happier by our Knowledge, than any Man can be by his Ignorance; for tho' Ignorance may plead an excuſe, yet it can hope for no Reward; and it is always better to need no excuſe, than to have the beſt in the world ready at hand to plead for our ſelves. Beſides, that we may do well to conſider, that ignorance is no where an excuſe where it is cheriſht; ſo that it would be the vaineſt thing in the world for any Man to foſter it, in hopes thereby to excuſe himſelf; for where it is wilful and choſen, it is a fault, and (as I ſaid before) it is the moſt unreaſonable thing in the World, that any Man's fault ſhould prove his excuſe. So that this can be no encouragement to ignorance, to ſay that it extenuates the faults of Men; for it does not extenuate them, whenever it is wilful and affected; and when ever it is deſigned and choſen, it is wilful; and then no Man can reaſonably deſign to continue ignorant, that he may have an excuſe for his faults, becauſe then the ignorance is wilful, and whenever it is ſo, it ceaſeth to be an excuſe.
I the rather ſpeak this, becauſe Ignorance hath had the good fortune to meet with great Patrons in the World, and to be extol'd, tho' not upon this account, yet upon another, for which there is leſs pretence of Reaſon; as if it were the Mother of Devotion. Of Superſtition I grant it is, and of this we ſee plentiful proof, among thoſe who are ſo careful to preſerve and cheriſh it: but that true Piety and Devotion ſhould ſpring from it, is as unlikely, as that Darkneſs ſhould produce Light. I do hope indeed, and Charitably believe, that the ignorance in which ſome are detained by their Teachers and Governours, will be a real excuſe, to as many of them as are otherwiſe honeſt and ſincere; but I doubt not, but the errors and faults which proceed from this ignorance, will lie heavy upon thoſe who keep them in it. I proceed to the
Second Obſervation, That the greater Advantages and Opportunities any Man hath of knowing the will of God, and his Duty, the greater will be his Condemnation if he do not do it. The Servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himſelf, neither did according to it, ſhall be beaten with many ſtripes. Which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himſelf; The preparation of our Mind to do the Will of God, whenever there is occaſion and opportunity for it, is accepted with him; a Will rightly diſpoſed to obey God, tho' it be not brought in to act, for want of opportunity, does not loſe its Reward: but when, notwithſtanding we know our Lord's Will, there are neither of theſe, neither the act, nor the preparation and reſolution of doing it, what puniſhment may we not expect?
The Juſt God, in puniſhing the ſins of Men, proportions the puniſhment to the Crime, and where the Crime is greater, the puniſhment riſeth; as amongſt the Jews, where the Crime was ſmall, the Malefactor was ſentenced to a few ſtripes; where it was great, he was beaten with many. Thus our Saviour repreſents the great Judge of the World dealing with Sinners; according as their Sins are aggravated, he will add to their puniſhment. Now after all the aggravations of ſin, there is none that doth more intrinſically heighten the malignity of it, than when it is committed againſt the clear knowledge of our Duty, and that upon theſe three accounts.
Firſt, Becauſe the Knowledge of God's Will is ſo great an advantage to the doing of it.
Secondly, Becauſe it is a great obligation upon us to the doing of it.
Thirdly, Becauſe the neglect of our Duty in this caſe, cannot be without a great deal of wilfulneſs and contempt. I ſhall ſpeak briefly to theſe three.
Firſt, Becauſe the knowledge of God's Will is ſo great an advantage to the doing of it; and every advantage of doing our Duty, is a certain aggravation of our neglect of it. And this is the Reaſon which our Saviour adds here in the Text, For to whomſoever much is given, of them much will be required; and to whom Men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. It was, no doubt, a great diſcouragement and diſadvantage to the Heathen, that they were ſo doubtful concerning the will of God, and in many caſes left to the uncertainty of their own Reaſon, by what way and means they might beſt apply themſelves to the pleaſing of him; and this diſcouraged ſeveral of the wiſeſt of them from all ſerious endeavours in Religion, thinking it as good to do nothing, as to be miſtaken about it. Others that were more naturally Devout, and could not ſatisfie their Conſciences without ſome expreſſions of Religion, fell into various ſuperſtitions, and were ready to embrace any way of Worſhip which Cuſtom preſcribed, or the fancies of Men could ſuggeſt to them; and hence ſprang all the ſtupid and barbarous Idolatries of the Heathen. For ignorance growing upon the World, that natural propention which was in the Minds of Men to Religion, and the Worſhip of a Deity, for want of certain direction, expreſt it ſelf in thoſe fooliſh and abominable Idolatries, which were practiced among the Heathen.
And is it not then a mighty advantage to us, that we have the clear and certain direction of Divine Revelation? We have the Will of God plainly diſcovered to us, and all the parts of our Duty clearly defined and determined, ſo that no Man that is in any meaſure free from intereſt and prejudice, can eaſily miſtake in any great and material part of his Duty. We have the Nature of God plainly revealed to us, and ſuch a Character of him given, as is moſt ſuitable to our natural Conceptions of a Deity, as render him both awful and amiable; for the Scripture repreſents him to us as Great and Good, Powerful and Merciful, a perfect hater of Sin, and a great lover of Mankind; and we have the Law and manner of his Worſhip (ſo far as was needful) and the Rules of a good Life clearly expreſt and laid down; and as a powerful Motive and Argument to the obedience of thoſe Laws, a plain diſcovery made to us of the endleſs Rewards and Puniſhments of another World. And is not this a mighty advantage to the doing of God's Will, to have it ſo plainly declared to us, and ſo powerfully enforced upon us? So that our Duty lies plainly before us, we ſee what we have to do, and the danger of neglecting it; ſo that conſidering the advantage we have of doing God's Will, by our clear knowledge of it, we are altogether inexcuſable if we do it not.
Secondly, The knowledge of our Lord's Will is likewiſe a great obligation upon us to the doing of it. For what ought in reaſon to oblige us more to do any thing, than to be fully aſſur'd that it is the Will of God, and that it is the Law of the great Soveraign of the World, who is able to ſave, or to deſtroy? that it is the pleaſure of him that made us, and who hath declared that he deſigns to make us happy, by our obedience to his Laws? So that if we know theſe things to be the Will of God, we have the greateſt obligation to do them, whether we conſider the Authority of God, or our own intereſt; and if we neglect them, we have nothing to ſay in our own excuſe. We knew the Law, and the advantage of keeping it, and the penalty of breaking it, and if after this we will tranſgreſs, there is no Apology to be made for us. They have ſomething to plead for themſelves, who can ſay, that tho' they had ſome apprehenſion of ſome parts of their Duty, and their Minds were apt to dictate to them that they ought to do ſome things, yet the different apprehenſions of Mankind about ſeveral of theſe things, and the doubts and uncertainties of their own Minds concerning them, made them eaſie to be carried off from their Duty, by the vicious inclinations of their own Nature, and the tyranny of Cuſtom and Example, and the pleaſant temptations of fleſh and blood; but had they had a clear and undoubted Revelation from God, and had certainly known theſe things to be his Will, this would have conquered and born down all Objections and Temptations to the contrary; or if it had not, would have ſtopt their mouths, and taken away all excuſe from them. There is ſome colour in this plea, that in many caſes they did not know certainly what the Will of God was: but for us who own a clear Revelation from God, and profeſs to believe it, what can we ſay for our ſelves, to mitigate the ſeverity of God toward us; why he ſhould not pour forth all his wrath, and execute upon us the fierceneſs of his anger?
Thirdly, The neglect of God's will when we know it, cannot be without a great deal of wilfulneſs and contempt. If we know it, and do it not, the fault is ſolely in our wills, and the more wilful any ſin is, the more hainouſly wicked is it. There can hardly be a greater aggravation of a Crime, than if it proceed from meer obſtinacy and perverſeneſs; and if we know it to be our Lord's Will, and do it not, we are guilty of the higheſt contempt of the greateſt Authority in the World. And do we think this to be but a ſmall aggravation, to affront the great Soveraign and Judge of the World? not only to break his Laws; but to trample upon them and deſpiſe them, when we know whoſe Laws they are? Will we provoke the Lord to jealouſie? are we ſtronger than he? We believe that it is God who ſaid, Thou ſhalt not commit Adultery; thou ſhalt not Steal; thou ſhalt not bear falſe witneſs againſt thy Neighbour; thou ſhalt not hate, or oppreſs, or defraud thy Brother in any thing; but thou ſhalt love thy Neighbour as thy ſelf; and will we notwithſtanding venture to break theſe Laws, knowing whoſe Authority they are ſtampt withal? After this contempt of him, what favour can we hope for from him? what can we ſay for our ſelves, why any one of thoſe many ſtripes which are threatned ſhould be abated to us? Ignoſci aliquatenus ignorantiae poteſt; contemptus veniam non habet; Something may be pardoned to ignorance; but contempt can expect no forgiveneſs. He that ſtrikes his Prince, not knowing him to be ſo, hath ſomething to ſay for himſelf, that tho' he did a diſloyal act, yet it did not proceed from a diſloyal Mind: but he that firſt acknowledgeth him for his Prince, and then affronts him, deſerves to be proſecuted with the utmoſt ſeverity, becauſe he did it wilfully, and in meer contempt. The knowledge of our Duty, and that it is the will of God which we go againſt, takes away all poſſible excuſe from us; for nothing can be ſaid, why we ſhould offend him, who hath both Authority to command us, and Power to deſtroy us.
And thus I have, as briefly as I could, repreſented to you the true ground and reaſon of the aggravation of thoſe Sins, which are committed againſt the clear knowledge of God's Will, and our Duty; becauſe this knowledge is ſo great an advantage to the doing of our Duty; ſo great an obligation upon us to it; and becauſe the neglect of our Lord's Will in this caſe, cannot be without great wilfulneſs, and a down-right contempt of his Authority.
And ſhall I now need to tell you, how much it concerns every one of us, to live up to that knowledge which we have of our Lord's Will, and to prepare our ſelves to do according to it; to be always in a readineſs and diſpoſition to do what we know to be his Will, and actually to do it, when there is occaſion, and opportunity? And it concerns us the more, becauſe we, in this Age and Nation, have ſo many advantages, above a great part of the World, of coming to the knowledge of our Duty. We enjoy the cleareſt and moſt perfect Revelation which God ever made of his Will to Mankind, and have the light of Divine Truth plentifully ſhed amongſt us, by the free uſe of the holy Scriptures, which is not a ſealed Book to us, but lies open to be read, and ſtudied by us; this Spiritual Food is rained down like Manna round about our Tents, and every one may gather ſo much as is ſufficient; we are not ſtinted, nor have the word of God given out to us in broken pieces, or mixt and adulterated, here a Leſſon of Scripture, and there a Legend; but whole and entire, ſincere and uncorrupt.
God hath not left us, as he did the Heathen for many Ages, to the imperfect and uncertain direction of Natural Light; nor hath he revealed his Will to us, as he did to the Jews, in dark Types and Shadows: but hath made a clear diſcovery of his Mind and Will to us. The Diſpenſation which we are under, hath no vail upon it, the Darkneſs is paſt, and the true Light now ſhineth; we are of the Day, and of the Light, and therefore it may juſtly be expected that we ſhould put off the Works of Darkneſs, and walk as Children of the Light. Every degree of knowledge which we have, is an aggravation of the Sins committed againſt it, and when our Lord comes to paſs Sentence upon us, will add to the number of our ſtripes. Nay, if God ſhould inflict no poſitive torment upon Sinners; yet their own Minds would deal moſt ſeverely with them upon this account, and nothing will gall their Conſciences more, than to remember againſt what Light they did offend. For herein lies the very nature and ſting of all guilt, to be conſcious to our ſelves, that we knew what we ought to have done, and did it not. The Vices and Corruptions which reigned in the World before, will be pardonable, in compariſon of ours. The times of that ignorance God winked at: but now he commands all Men every where to Repent. Mankind had ſome excuſe for their Errors before, and God was pleaſed in a great meaſure to overlook them: but if we continue ſtill in our ſins, we have no cloak for them. All the degrees of Light which we enjoy, are ſo many Talents committed to us by our Lord, for the improving whereof, he will call us to a ſtrict account; for unto whomſoever much is given, of him much ſhall be required; and to whom he hath committed much, of him he will ask the more. And nothing is more reaſonable, than that Men ſhould account for all the advantages and opportunities they have had of knowing the Will of God; and that as their knowledge was increaſed, ſo their ſorrow and puniſhment ſhould proportionably riſe, if they ſin againſt it. The ignorance of a great part of the World is deſervedly pitied and lamented by us; but the Condemnation of none is ſo ſad, as of thoſe, who having the knowledge of God's Will, neglect to do it; how much better had it been for them not to have kuown the way of righteouſneſs, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy Commandment delivered unto them! If we had been born, and brought up in ignorance of the true God and his Will, we had had no ſin, in compariſon of what now we have: but now that we ſee, our ſin remains. This will aggravate our Condemnation beyond meaſure, that we had the knowledge of Salvation ſo clearly revealed to us. Our Duty lies plainly before us, we know what we ought to do, and what manner of Perſons we ought to be, in all holy Converſation and Godlineſs. We believe the coming of our Lord to Judgment, and we know not how ſoon He may be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels, not only to take vengeance on them that know not God, but on them that have known him, and yet obey not the Goſpel of his Son. And if all this will not move us to prepare our ſelves to do our Lord's Will, we deſerve to have our ſtripes multiplied. No Condemnation can be too heavy for thoſe who offend againſt the clear knowledge of God's Will, and their Duty.
Let us then be perſwaded to ſet upon the practice of what we know; let the light which is in our Underſtandings, deſcend upon our Hearts and Lives; let us not dare to continue any longer in the practice of any known Sin, nor in the neglect of any thing which we are convinced is our Duty, and if our hearts condemn us not, neither for the neglect of the means of Knowledge, nor for rebelling againſt the Light of God's Truth ſhining in our Minds, and glaring upon our Conſciences, then have we confidence towards God: but if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knows all things.