The Christian Life 2, Collection of discourses · Discourse 1 (2 of 3)
5ly. The Soul of Man is alſo liable to the perpetual Vexations of its own croſs, wild, and furious Paſſions. We have ſufficient Experience in this Life how vexatious our croſs and exceſſive Paſſions are; for when our Paſſions are divided, and contrary Objects have raiſed contrary Deſires and Appetites in us, how do they rend and diſtract our Souls, and cauſe perpetual Mutinies and Tumults within us? But by Reaſon of thoſe many ſenſual Gratifications with which we now make a ſhift to ſtop the Mouths of thoſe Daughters of the Horſe-Leech, when they cry out give, give; we cannot be ſo ſenſible of the Trouble and Vexation of them; unleſs we now ſubdue and mortifie them, we we ſhall be forced to carry them into Eternity along with us. For by being ſeparated from their Bodies the Souls of Men are never ſeparated from their prevailing Tempers, but in their ſeparated State are for the main of the ſame Diſpoſition as they were here: and do retain the ſame Paſſions and Appetites. 'Tis true, they cannot be ſuppoſed to retain their bodily Appetites after they have thrown off their Bodies, but when they have wholly accuſtomed themſelves in this Life to fleſhly Pleaſures, and have never Experienced ſpiritual ones, it is impoſſible but that in the other they ſhould be tormented with an outragious Deſire of being imbodied again; that ſo being incapable of reliſhing any other, they may repeat thoſe fleſhly Pleaſures which heretofore they were accuſtomed to, and act over the bruitiſh Scene anew. And this vehement Hankering of theſe earnalized Souls to return into their Bodily State, is perhaps the only Senſuality that a ſeparate Soul is capable of; but it is ſuch a Senſuality as muſt neceſſarily render ſuch Souls extremely miſerable; for in that State it will be like the Hunger of a Starving Man that is Immured between two dead Walls, that is, it will be a fierce Deſire without Hope of Satisfaction, a corroding Hunger, ſharpened with Deſpair of Food, than which there is nothing more intolerably grievous and tormenting. For how will it vex the wretched Spirit to look back from the Shores of Eternity into this corporeal World, and to ruminate thus with it ſelf; O miſerable Creature that I am! here am I caſt away for ever upon a ſtrange and deſolate Shore, where I muſt Famiſh for want of Food, pine away a long Eternity, and wander to and fro for ever tormented with reſtleſs Rage and hungry unſatisfied Deſires; where is not one Pleaſure that I can reliſh, not an Object that I can taſte any ſweetneſs in. We is me! yonder are all my Joys and Comforts, all that is dear and precious to me. O that I might go back again, and be once more reſtored to the Injoyment of them! but alas! between me and them there runs an impaſſible Gulph, that deprives me of all hope of returning! For thus will the unhappy Soul torment it ſelf with an outragious Longing for that which it can never hope to enjoy. But then beſides this Appetite of Senſuality which it will there be vexed with, it will alſo carry along with it all that Envy and Malice, that Wrath and Impatience, Pride and Inſolence which it here contracted; which Black and Helliſh Paſſions will prove perpetual Furies in its Boſom; For in that wretched State it will not only have Objects always preſent. to excite them, but ſuch Objects too as will excite them all at once to the moſt outragious Exceſſes. For when all at once it ſhall ſee others advanced to the greatest Heights of Glory and Happineſs, and it ſelf not only rejected but abandoned to endleſs Miſery, the Senſe of this muſt neceſſarily irritate all its deviliſh Paſſions to the highest Extremities, and cauſe its Pride to ſwell, its Envy to burſt, and its Wrath to boil into a Diabolical Fury; and what a continual Hell muſt this create in the Soul, to be perpetually worried with ſo many black and rabid Paſſions, to have all its inferiour Parts and Affections, like thoſe of the Monſter Scylla whom the Poets talk of, as ſo many Dogs continually barking and ſnarling at one another, and yet remain unſeparable, as being Comparts of the ſame Subſtance?
6ly. The Soul of Man is alſo liable to the intolerable Anguiſh of its own guilty Conſcience. The Spirit of a Man, ſays Solomon, can bear his Infirmities, but a wounded Spirit who can bear? Intimating that of all the Paſſions which humane Nature is liable to, there are none ſo grievous as that of a Mind awakened with a ſenſe of Guilt. And of the Truth of this we have ſome Experience even in this Life, tho now we can make a ſhift either to divert our ſelves by our ſenſual Mirth and Jollities, from liſtening to the Clamours of our guilty Minds, or elſe to deceive our ſelves into a groundleſs Peace by indulgent and fallacious Principles; but unleſs we expiate our Guilts here, we ſhall carry them into Eternity with us, where all thoſe ſenſual Pleaſures, with which we now divert our ſelves from reflecting on our Actions, will be removed, and all thoſe fallacious Principles, with which we cheat and deceive our ſelves, will be baffled by a woful Experience. So that then our Soul will be nakedly expoſed to the Laſh of its own furious Thoughts, and having nothing to guard or defend it ſelf againſt the cutting Reflections of a guilty Conſcience, which being rouſed up and kept awake by the unintermitting ſenſe of our Miſery will be always clamouring upon us, and continually torturing our wretched Minds with ſharp and vexatious Reflections: and beſides, whilſt our Soul doth act by bodily Inſtruments, and work in this Mire of Fleſh, it is impoſſible it ſhould be ſo nimble and expedite in its Motions, as it will be when it is a naked Spirit. For then its Perceptions will be much clearer, its Convictions more ſtrong and evident, and all its Reflections active as the Lightning, and quick as the Wing of an Angel. So that whereas now the ſharpeſt Stings of our Conſcience have an Intermixture of Fancy and Imagination in them, being groſs and material Powers do dull and rebate the Edge of them, and render them leſs pungent and ſenſible; when we are ſtripped out of our Fleſh, and ſent naked into the other World, we ſhall have no Clog about us to break or allay thoſe ſharp Reflections with which we ſhall be forced to laſh our ſelves for ever. And then our Conſcience will cut to the quick, and ſting with a corroding Venom; then will the Remembrance of thoſe Guilts which brought our Miſeries upon us, rouze up ſuch a Swarm of Horrors in our Minds, as we ſhall be able neither to avoid nor indure. For the Senſe of our Miſery will be every Moment ſuggeſting thoſe Guilts to our Minds that were the Cauſe of it, and continually upbraiding us with thoſe deſperate Follies by which we ran our ſelves into it; the Conſideration of which will cauſe us to hate and curſe our ſelves for ever, and to diſcharge our Fury upon our own Heads, which will make our Soul turn Devil to it ſelf, and force it to be its own Executioner. For it being now conſcious to it ſelf that its Miſeries are nothing elſe but the rueful and pitileſs Deſerts of its own Folly and Madneſs, it will be continually meditating horrible Reflections and ſinging Satyrs on it ſelf. So that while it is wandring among wretched Ghoſts through the diſmal Shades below, it will never ceaſe laſhing it ſelf with its own ſharp and ſtinging Thoughts, till it hath chafed it ſelf into a Fury, and boiled up its ſelf-condemning Rage into everlaſting Madneſs.
7ly. And laſtly, The Soul of Man is alſo liable to endure all theſe diſmal things for ever: For that our Souls are naturally immaterial and immortal, I have already proved; ſo that if God in his infinite Juſtice ſhall think fit to ſentence wicked Souls irrecoverably to all theſe above named Miſeries, they muſt by the Conſtitution of their own Natures live in, and undergo them for ever. And that he doth think to pronounce and execute ſuch a Sentence upon them, he himſelf hath aſſured us; for ſo in Scripture he hath plainly declared, that their Puniſhment ſhall be everlaſting, Mat. 25.7. Theſe, ſaith he ſpeaking of the Wicked, ſhall go away into everlaſting Puniſhment: and accordingly the Fire in, and with which they are to be puniſhed, is called everlaſting fire, Mat. 25.41. and that that they ſhall ſubſiſt for ever in this Fire, and be co-eternal with it, is evident by thoſe Paſſions and Actions that are attributed to them in it; for Rev. 14.11. they are ſaid to have no reſt day nor night in it, but to be in a continual unintermitting Fever, that will neceſſary burn and ſcorch them, and not allow them the leaſt Intervals of Eaſe or Comfort. And in Mat. 13.42. the bitter Anguiſh which they ſhall endure in this Fire is deſcribed by their weeping, and wailing, and gnaſhing their Teeth; which Actions are plain Indications not only of their ſubſiſting in this everlaſting Fire, but of the extream Horror and Anguiſh that they ſhall therein endure. And indeed when God ſentences any immortal Being to Miſery, its Miſery muſt be ſuppoſed to continue as long as it lives, and conſequently to continue for ever, ſince it is to ſubſiſt and live for ever. And what a fearful Acceſſion is this to all thoſe above named Miſeries? If we were to endure the ſofteſt and moſt gentle Pain without any Interval for thirty, forty, or a hundred Years, the Proſpect of that which is to come would render that which is preſent ſo intolerable, that we ſhould quickly grow weary of our Lives, and wiſh our ſelves in our Graves. Lord! what ſhall we then do when we come to languiſh out a long Eternity in the tormenting Agonies of damned Ghoſts? How will it imbitter every preſent Torment to us, to think of that never-ending Duration of Torment to come, that after we have conſumed Millions of Millions of Ages on the Rack, we have ſtill an eternal Hell behind, and are as far diſtant from the End of our Miſery, as we were when it firſt began? O! now if we could die and be inſenſible for ever! what welcome Tidings would it be? how gladly ſhould we receive that fatal Blow that could put an End to a woful Eternity? But now it will be in vain for us to cry, O Death, Death, have mercy upon us, and diſpatch us quickly into an eternal Grave! For Death is deaf and cannot hear, every Moment it ſtabs and wounds, but woe is me! it cannot kill; it ſtrikes and ſtrikes but cannot ſtrike home, and ſo is forced to continue as ſtrugling under the Pangs of an immortal Death. If there were any Proſpect of an End of our Miſery, though it were after a Million of Ages, this would give ſome Eaſe to the languiſhing Sufferer; But never, never— O how that fatal Word ſtabs the wretched Soul, and rankles its Anguiſh into eternal Deſparation! For to be in extream Miſery, and ſee no End of it, is the Perfection of Hell, and the utmoſt Poſſibility of Damnation.
And thus have I endeavoured to repreſent unto you the fearful Mulcts our Souls are liable to in the other World; which are ſuch as, one would think, were ſufficient to awaken the moſt ſtupid and inſenſible Creature.
II. I now paſs on to the ſecond thing propoſed, which was to ſhew you upon what Accounts it is that our Souls are liable to theſe dreadful Things; or what it is that expoſes us to the Danger of them. In general, it is our own Sin and Wickedneſs, which doth not only incenſe the holy God againſt us, who is of purer Eyes than to behold Iniquity, and provoke and urge him to inflict theſe endleſs Miſeries upon us as the juſt Retributions of our deſperate Folly and Obſtinacy; but doth alſo by its own natural Cauſality prepare us for, and ſink us into that miſerable State: So that if God ſhould not damn us, yet our own Wickedneſs would; the Miſery of Damnation being little elſe but the Perfection and Conſummation of Sin. For the Sting of eternal as well as temporal Death is Sin, and it is Goodneſs and Wickedneſs that makes Heaven and Hell, thoſe two oppoſite Hemiſpheres of the Inviſible World; and as, if Goodneſs were plucked out of Heaven, it would ceaſe to be Heaven, and be overcaſt immediately with the diſmal Shades of Hell; ſo if Wickedneſs were baniſhed out of Hell, it would be Hell no longer, but preſently clear up into Light and Serenity, and ſhine forth into a glorious Heaven; But whereſoever Sin and Wickedneſs reigns, there is Hell and Damnation in its neceſſary Cauſes. Since therefore in neceſſary Cauſes that which is the Cauſe of the Cauſe is alſo the Cauſe of the Effect, our beſt way to be reſolved what it is that renders us liable to theſe future Miſeries, will be to enquire what it is that renders us liable to fall into a ſinful Condition at the preſent; for whatſoever renders us liable to Sin, muſt neceſſarily expoſe us to the Danger of Miſery. Now the Danger of our falling into and continuing in a State of Sin, proceeds from theſe following Cauſes.
1. From the natural Liberty of our Wills to Good and Evil.
2ly. From the many Temptations to Evil among which we are placed,
3ly. From the more cloſe and intimate Acceſs which theſe Temptations have to us, than the contrary Motives to Goodneſs.
4ly. From the great Correſpondence of theſe Temptations with the corrupt Inclinations of our Nature.
5ly. From the unwearied Diligence and great Subtilty of the Devil to make Uſe of, and apply theſe Temptations to us.
6ly. From the plauſible Pretences we are furniſhed with to excuſe, and juſtify our Compliance with them.
7ly. From the extream Difficulty which this our Compliance brings us under to reject and vanquiſh them for the future.
1. We are liable to fall into a ſinful State, and from thence into eternal Miſery from the natural Liberty of our Wills to Good and Evil. If indeed we were neceſſarily determined to Good, our Happineſs would be intailed upon our Natures, and it would be as impoſſible for us to be miſerable, as it is for the Fire to freeze, or for the Ice to burn; but to be ſo determined I am apt to think is not conſiſtent with the condition of a Creature. For to be good by a natural Neceſſity requires an infallible Underſtanding, or a Mind that is infinitely removed from all Poſſibility of being deceived and miſtaken; and this no finite Mind can be: But how ſhould the Will be in all particulars neceſſarily determined to what is Right, ſo long as it is under the Conduct of a fallible Mind that hath a natural Poſſibility of miſleading it? So that to be naturally, neceſſarily, and eſſentially good, ſeems to be an incommunicable Prerogative of the Divine Nature, according to that of our Saviour, There is none good ſave one, and that is God, Luke 18.19. For ſince no Will can be eſſentially good but that which is guided by an infallible Mind, and no Mind can be eſſentially infallible but that which is infinite in Knowledge, it hence neceſſarily follows, that to be free to Good and Evil is as natural to reaſonable Creatures, as it is to be finite in Knowledge and Underſtanding. 'Tis true the greater Light of Knowledge there is in the Mind, the leſs Freedom to Evil there muſt be in the Will, unleſs it hath ſome antecedent Biaſs and Inclination to Evil; and conſequently the Angels being of far more intelligent Natures than we Men, muſt needs be naturally leſs free to Evil; but yet that even they are naturally free to it is evident, for that ſome of them have actually lapſed into Devils; and if they are ſo by their Natures, then much more are we by ours, who are ſo much their Inferiours in the rational World. For as we are finite Intelligences we muſt neceſſarily have ſome Degree of Freedom to Evil in us, but as we are of the lowermoſt Rank of Intelligences, we muſt naturally have greater Degrees of this Freedom in us than any other Order of intelligent Natures; And if this were all, yet this very Condition of our Natures renders us more liable to degenerate into an evil and ſinful State, than any other kind of reaſonable Creatures. If we were now in a State of perfect Innocence, yet of all intelligent Creatures, we ſhould have the greateſt Reaſon to apprehend the Danger of our Fall; becauſe being the leaſt intelligent we have the greateſt Freedom to Evil, and conſequently are on that Account in the greateſt danger of falling into it. By the very Condition of our Natures we are of all rational Creatures placed neareſt to the Brinks of the fatal Precipice, and therefore have moſt Reaſon to apprehend the Danger of falling headlong into it. For doubtleſs among innocent Creatures, there are none ſo near the Danger of ſinning as thoſe whoſe Wills are least reſtrain'd from it, and therefore though we were now as innocent as the bleſſed Angels are, yet our Condition would be unſpeakably more unſafe; becauſe by how much we fall ſhort of them in Knowledge and Underſtanding, by ſo much we ſhould exceed them in our Freedom to Evil, and conſequently be ſo much the more liable to it. But this alas is the least of our Danger; For
2ly. We are liable to fall into a ſinful State, and from thence into eternal Miſery, from the many Temptations to Evil among which we are placed. For this State of Being in which we now are, being intended by God for our Tryal and Probation, it was requiſite in order thereunto that we ſhould be placed among Difficulties, that we might have ſufficient Opportunity to exerciſe our Skill and Courage in Religion; for unleſs we had ſome ſuch Difficulties to encounter, there could no Proof or Tryal be made of our Virtue. Hence therefore hath God placed our rational Souls in mortal Bodies, which do naturally abound with brutiſh Appetites and Deſires, and compaſſed us round with this World of ſenſual Goods and Evils, which continually importunes and excites them, that ſo we might have ſufficient opportunity to exerciſe thoſe humane Virtues which conſiſt in the Dominion of our rational Faculties over theſe our bodily Appetites and Deſires, that we might never want occaſion to give the moſt glorious Proofs of our Patience and Chaſtity, Temperance and Equanimity, Meekneſs and Sobriety; all which are proper to us as Beings made up of Soul and Body whence all thoſe brutiſh Appetites ariſe, in the good or bad Government whereof conſiſts the Nature of humane Virtue and Vice. So that this preſent State of humane Life is intended by God for a Field of Combat between Reaſon and Senſe, between the Law in our Minds, and the Law in our Members; and that the Victory of Reaſon might, through the Difficulty of it, be render'd more glorious and remarkable, he hath furniſhed its Antagoniſt, viz. the bodily Appetite with various Weapons, with the Temptations of a World of ſenſitive Goods and Evils to aſſault and oppoſe it, to try its Metal, and exerciſe both its active and paſſive Virtues; and upon the ſucceſs of this Combat depends the everlaſting Fate o the Soul. If Senſe prevail, and lead her finally Captive into Vice and Wickedneſs, ſhe is loſt for ever; but if Reaſon ger the Victory, and finally reduce the Deſires and Appetites of Senſe under the Dominion of Virtue, when this mortal Life ends She ſhall triumph for ever, and be tranſlated hence into a free and diſintangled State, where ſhe ſhall be vexed and inticed no more with the Importunities of ſenſual Luſts and Affections, but to all Eternity enjoy the Serenity and Pleaſure of a pure Intellectual Being. This being therefore the true State of Affairs, it is too too obvious how liable the Soul is to miſcarry when it is placed in a Body among ſo many brutiſh Paſſions and Appetites, and that Body is placed in a tempting World, among ſo many ſenſitive Goods and Evils that are continually importuning thoſe Appetites to mutiny againſt Reaſon, and carry us away Captive into Folly and Wickedneſs. How much Reaſon have we to look about us, when we are placed in the midſt of ſo many Dangers, and have ſuch numberleſs Snares on every ſide ready to decoy and intangle us? But this is not all neither; For
3ly. We are liable alſo to fall into a ſinful State, and from thence into eternal Miſery, from the more cloſe and intimate Acceſs which theſe Temptations have to us, than the contrary Motives to Goodneſs. For the great Advantage which theſe Temptations to Vice have over the moſt powerful Motives to Virtue is this, that they are all of them perſent and ſenſible; for as for thoſe grand Motives to Goodneſs that are drawn from the Conſideration of our future State, they propoſe to our Hopes and Fears, thoſe Maſter-Springs of our Motions, ſuch Goods and Evils as are a great way off, and beyond the proſpect of our bodily Senſes, which makes the Land-skip of them appear exceeding dim and faint upon the Mind; their Futurity, which is one ſort of Diſtance, cauſing them like Things afar off to look confuſed and indiſtinct, by reaſon of which they cannot affect us ſo powerfully, and draw ſuch ſtrong and laſting Draughts of themſelves upon our minds: For Goods, like Magnets, have always the ſtrongeſt Attractions when they are neareſt; but as for thoſe inviſible Goods of the other World, they are at ſuch a Diſtance from us that they can hardly reach us who live upon the remoteſt Circumference of the Sphere of their Attraction. And as Diſtance leſſens all Objects to to the Eye, and renders them much ſmaller in Appearance than they are in Reality; ſo the remote Futurity of thoſe eternal Goods which the Motives of Virtue do propoſe, detracts from their juſt Magnitude, and makes them, tho unſpeakably vaſt in themſelves, appear exceeding ſmall and inconſiderable to our ſhort-ſighted Minds. And the ſame is to be ſaid of thoſe future Evils alſo, which they denounce againſt us; and beſides, being not only remote, but inviſible too, they cannot ſtrike upon our Senſes, by which the moſt vigorous Impreſſions of Things are made upon our Minds; whereas the Temptations of Vice are all preſent and ſenſible, and do ſo circle us round as ſoon as we look abroad into the World, that which way ſoever we turn our Eyes they are ſtill before us thruſting themſelves into our Minds, and with their conſtant Importunity ſtirring and working our Deſires. So that whenever theſe outward Goods or Evils do aſſault us, we lie bare and open to them, and they continually preſs ſo cloſe upon our Senſes, that we are not able to avoid their Impreſſions: When any outward Good invites us to a ſinful Action, it hath the vast Advantage of being preſcnt and ſenſible; by Reaſon of which, it having a more immediate Acceſs to our Minds doth many times prevail before we can Rally up a ſufficient Strength of Conſiderations againſt it; and when we ſet our ſelves to reſiſt and ſtruggle with it, the best of our Weapons is a Company of thin and faint Notions of Things afar off; Things that we never ſaw nor felt; which whilſt we are recollecting, the Vice we are Tempted to, hath its Powers ready to ſeize upon the Will, which having oftentimes experienced the Pleaſure it invites to, is the more eaſily ſeduced to a freſh Compliance. And whilſt our Enemies are ſo near us, and our Helps and Succors ſo far off, we muſt needs acknowledge our Danger very great and urgent.
4ly. We are liable to fall into a ſinful State, and from thence into eternal Miſery, from the great Correſpondence of theſe Temptations with the corrupt Inclinations of our Natures. For by Reaſon of the Nearneſs and Senſibleneſs of thoſe outward worldly Goods by which we are continually tempted and ſolicited to Evil, they have the Advantage of preingaging our Affections to them before we arrive to the Uſe of our Reaſon; for in our tender years theſe are the only Goods that we can reliſh, they are theſe that do feed, clothe, and furniſh us in hand with whatſoever our natural Appetites do gape for; that are the ſole Entertainment of our childiſh Fanices, and the only Objects our yet unfledg'd Thoughts and Deſires can reach at; and our Youth being thus intirely inured to them, by that time we are grown up to the Age of Reaſon and the Capacities of Virtue and Religion, we have generally contracted ſuch an exceſſive Inclination towards them, and are ſo ſtrongly biaſs'd with the Love of them, that whenſoever they beckon to us we are ready to follow them through all the forbidden Tracts that lead to everlaſting Ruin. For our Natures being thus vitiated, the Temptations without us have a ſtrong Party within us, a Party of traytorous Inclinations which upon every Summons ſolicites us to yield, and ſurrender up our Virtue and Innocence; and no ſooner can any Temptation from without give the Alarm, but preſently our own Luſts are up raiſing a Mutiny within us, and with the Heats of our corrupted Fancy do many times ſo diſorder our Underſtanding that it cannot rally up its Conſiderations againſt them. For before ever our Underſtanding could be Furniſhed with Conſiderations, our Hearts were prepoſſeſſed with ſuch an exceſſive degree of ambitious, covetous, and luxurious Inclinations, that when afterwards the Pleaſures, Profits, and Honours without begin to hold forth their grateful Lures to us, and to tempt us away to Fraud or Treachery, to Vanity or Licentiouſneſs, thoſe depraved Inclinations have gotten ſuch Head within us, that they prove moſt commonly too ſtrong for all our Conſideration, and with their impetuous Current carry us away, and drive us headlong down towards eternal Ruin; and unleſs we put forth all the ſtrength of our Reaſon and Reſolution, and the Grace of God alſo come in to our Aid, it will be impoſſible for us to ſtem ſuch a furious Tide when it is driven by the Wind of an outward Temptation. When therefore our own Inclinations do ſo vigorouſly conſpire with the Temptations without to thruſt us on into Sin and Perdition, how we can be inſenſible of the eminent danger we are in of Miſcarrying for ever? But
5ly. We are liable alſo to fall into a ſinful State, and from thence into Eternal Miſery, from the unwearied Diligence and great Subtilty of the Devil to make Uſe of, and apply theſe Temptations to us. For that the Devil doth commonly, as an aſſiſtant Genius to the Corruption of our Natures, excite and provoke Men to Wickedneſs is very evident from Scripture; where he is ſaid to work in the Children of Diſobedience, Eph. 2.2. To fill the Heart of Ananias to lie to the Holy Ghoſt, Acts 5.3. And to take away the Word out of Mens hearts, leſt they ſhould believe and be ſaved, Luke 8.12. All which Expreſſions do plainly imply that the Devil is a conſtant Agent in the Sins of Men. And being a Spiritual Agent, he muſt needs be ſuppoſed to have a nearer Acceſs to the Soul than any material Cauſe whatſoever. For tho he be totally debarr'd from all kind of Intercouſe with the immediate Operations of the reaſonable Soul, and can no more look into the Thoughts than we can into the Bowels of the Earth; yet he can eaſily get into the Fancy which ſtands next to that myſterious Chamber that is open to no Eye but Gods, and make what uſe he pleaſes of the infinite Images and Phantaſms that are in it, and diſpoſe, and order, and diſtinguiſh them into the Pictures of what Objects he pleaſes, juſt as the Painter doth his numerous Cojours that lie confuſedly before him in their ſeveral Shells, and continue and repeat thoſe Pictures and Repreſentations as long and as oft as he pleaſes. And then conſidering what the natural Uſe of the Fancy is, both to the Ʋnderſtanding and Will, how it prompts the one with matter of Invention, and ſupplies it with Variety of Objects to work on, and draws forth and excites the other to chuſe or reject thoſe Objects it preſents, according as they are pleaſing or diſpleaſing; we muſt needs ſuppoſe that the Devil hath a vast Advantage of inſinuating his black Suggeſtions into the Soul, by having ſuch free Acceſs into the Fancy. And accordingly he is ſaid to put it into the heart of Judas to betray Chriſt, John 13.2. But then he being not only a ſpiritual, but alſo an intellectual Agent, of a vaſt and capacious Underſtanding by Nature, and particularly improved in the black Art of temping by a long Experience of its Wiles and Stratagems, having been a Tempter almoſt ever ſince he hath been an Angel; he muſt needs be ſuppoſed to be wonderfully expert and fagacious in it; that after having had five Thouſand years experience of the Methods of ſeducing Souls to increaſe and perfect his natural Subtilty, he muſt by this be fully inſtructed when and how to apply himſelf to every Age and Conſtitution. For this hath been his ſole Buſineſs wherein he hath been infinitely intent and active ever ſince he became a Devil, and if from a Man, then much more from a Devil of one Buſineſs. Good Lord deliver me, from a Devil that for five Thouſand Years hath been continually making Experiments of Temptation, and drawing them into Rules to direct and order his miſchievous Practice on the Souls of Men. But beſides, as the Devil is of a ſpiritual and ingelligent Nature, ſo he hath a vaſt Number of his black Angels continually roving about the World to ſeduce and captivate us into Sin and Ruin. And tho theſe malignant Spirits have no ligament of natural Love between them to tie and oblige them to one another, yet by that perfect Hatred which they all bear to God and Men they are united together in an inviolable League, and go hand in hand with one another in purſuance of their deſperate Deſign to involve our wretched Souls in the ſame eternal Ruin with themſelves, which renders their Force ſo much the more formidable. And when we have ſo many ſpiritual, ſubtil, and Powerful Adverſaries combining againſt, and continually wandring to and fro like roaring Lyons to devour us, we cannot but apprehend our Danger exceeding great; eſpecially conſidering the infinite Temptations from without, that this World affords the great Variety of ſenſual Goods and Evils which they have to object to our carnalized Minds. For theſe miſchievious Spirits, having ſo great Inſight into our Tempers, and ſo great a Choice of Objects to ſuggeſt to our Fancies, can never be at a Loſs how they may nick us with a convenient Temptation; and that which gives their Temptations a vaſt Advantage over us is, that we know not how to diſtinguiſh them from the Motions of our own Hearts; For could we ſee the Devil at our Elbows, or hear him whiſpering at our Ears every time he inſinuates his wicked Suggeſtions into our Minds, we ſhould doubtleſs reject them with an unſpeakable Horror; but becauſe when they are convey'd into us, we know not how to diſtinguiſh them from the natural Births of our own Minds; therefore we do make no ſcruple to hug and dandle them in our Thoughts and entertain them with an actual Complacence. And when the Devil can convey his Poyſon into us in ſuch an inviſible manner, without diſcovering his Devils Face; when he can thus prompt us behind the Curtain, and ſo diſguiſe his Whiſpers that we can't diſcern them from the ſecret Luſtings of our own Hearts; how can we be ſafe, without great Care and Watchfulneſs, from the Malice of ſuch a formidable Enemy? But
6ly. We are alſo liable to fall into a ſinful State, and from thence into eternal Miſery, from the plauſible Pretences we are furniſhed with to excuſe and juſtify our Compliance with them. When by our own Folly and the Devil's Malice we are actually betrayed into any wilful Sin, a ſpeedy Repentance would recover us immediately, and heal the Wound as ſoon as it is made; but inſtead of that we have a thouſand plauſible Excuſes to palliate and skin it over? but alas! in the mean time it rots inwardly, and is feſtring apace into an incurable Gangrene. For when our Conſcience begins to fly in our Faces, we have no other Way, but either preſently to repent of, or to excuſe and cloak our Wickedneſs; the later of which is uſually pitch'd on as being both the moſt eaſy, and the moſt agreeable with our corrupt Inclinations. And indeed there are ſo many Coverts which Men have found out for their Luſts to ſhelter them from the Perſecutions of their Conſciences, that this Way there are no Men can be long to ſeek; for either they may blanch them over with an innocent Name, and call their Intemperances, Good-fellow-ſhip, their Knaveries, ingenious Fetches; and their Incontinences, Tricks of Wit; or elſe they may extenuate and mince them into Peccadillo's, and ſmooth over their groſſeſt Rebellions with the ſofter name of humane Failings and Infirmities; or elſe they may furniſh themſelves with ſome Shew of Argument to vindicate their Vices and aſſert them lawful, as ſome of late have done in the Caſe of Fornication and Ʋncleaneſs: or elſe they may ſet up for Philoſophical Sinners, and quote Texts out of their Goſpel, the Leviathan, againſt the eternal Differences of Good and Evil. But if their Conſciences will not be put off with ſuch poor Pretences as theſe, there are Religious Pretences enough in the World to protect and give Countenance to all their Impieties; and they may either fly to the Romiſh Doctrins of Confeſſion and Penance, of Venial Sins, and of probable Opinions, with any one of which they may eaſily reconcile their Luſts and Conſciences: Or if they chance to have an Antipathy to the name of Roman Catholick, they may furniſh themſelves with ſuch Doctrins out of ſome of our modern Euthuſiaſts, as will be as favourable to their Luſts as they need, or wiſh, or deſire; that will conſecrate their irregular Paſſions into Signs of Grace, and dwindle their groſſest Crimes into the Sports of God's People; that will exalt a mechanick Train of Fancies and Paſſions into a ſincere converſion, and improve an Hyſterical Fit into a ſpiritual Experience. By theſe, and ſuch like ways may men eaſily excuſe their Vices to their Conſciences; and when they are furniſhed with ſo many Expedients whereby to inable themſelves to ſin on quietly, in how much Danger are they of falling faſt aſleep in the midſt of their Guilts, and never waking again till they flame out about their Ears into everlaſting Burnings? For whereas this Faculty of Conſcience was implanted within us by the Author of our Natures, to be a Guard to our Innocence, and a Scourge to our Luſts, the Generality of Men have invented ſo many Tricks to ſhift and evade it, that it is become almoſt totally uſeleſs to them. And when they have thus diſabled their Conſciences from defending them againſt the Importunities of their Luſts, in what unſpeakable Danger muſt they be, not only of falling into, but continuing in them till they have utterly ruined and deſtroyed them?
7ly. And laſtly, We are alſo liable to fall into a ſinful State, and from thence into eternal Miſery, from the extream Difficulty which this our Compliance with thoſe Temptations brings us under, to reject and vanquiſh them for the future. For every new Compliance with Temptations to Evil foments and inrages our evil Inclinations, and when once theſe evil Inclinations are by our cuſtomary Compliances educated into ſinful Habits, it will be impoſſible for us without a mighty Aſſiſtance of divine Grace to vanquiſh and ſubdue them. So that as upon the former Accounts we are in extream danger of falling into ſinful Courſes, upon this Account we are in no leſs Danger of continuing in them. For by complying with this Temptation, I ſhall very much diſable my ſelf from withſtanding the next; and if I yield to that too, the third will find me much more ready and tractable, and ſo on, till at laſt the Temptation grows firſt familiar, and then natural to me, and then it will be hard, and then harder, and then almoſt impoſſible to reject or deny it. And when Things are reduced to this Iſſue that my Sin is naturalized to me, and grown into an inveterate Habit, the Lord have mercy upon me! for now I am in the Suburbs of Hell, but one Remove from the State of the Damned, and am ſo far gone in a confirmed State of Impiety, that I have almoſt loſt my Liberty of returning; and unleſs I am ſpeedily reſcued by ſome Miracle of Grace, it is morally impoſſible I ſhould ever eſcape. Thus as we go on from one Degree of Wickedneſs to another, we do as it were break down the Bridge behind us, and do what in us lies to diſappoint our ſelves of all Hopes of any future Retreat. For every Step forwards in our ſinful Progreſs, renders our Return more difficult; and when once we have proceeded into a Cuſtom and Habit of Sin, we ſhall find Repentance ſo irkſom to us, and ſo much againſt the Grain of our Nature, that it is a thouſand to one but that the Difficulty of it will utterly diſhearten us from attempting it; and ſo rather than take ſo much Pains as we muſt neceſſarily do in ſwimming againſt the impetuous Stream of our Natures, we ſhall tamely yield to it, and ſuffer our ſelves to be born down by it into the dead Sea of endleſs Miſery. When therefore there are ſo many Cauſes conſpiring together to betray us into ſinful Courſes, and when there are ſo many Difficulties when once we are in to oppoſe and hinder our Retreat, what eminent Danger are we in of falling into, and perſeering in Sin to our everlaſting Ruin! And thus you ſee how extreamly liable we are upon all theſe Accounts to be lost for ever, that is, to plunge our ſelves into all thoſe endleſs Miſeries which the loſs of our Souls implies.
What then remains but that being ſeriouſly affected with the Senſe of our Danger, we preſently awake out of our Security, and with the deepest Concern for our immortal Souls, cry out with St. Peter's Auditors, Men and Brethren, what ſhall we do to be ſaved? Veriſly when I reflect upon the ſtrange Unconcernedneſs of Men about their future Condition, I am tempted to think either that they do not believe that they have an immortal Soul in them, or that if they do, they believe it is impoſſible it ſhould for ever miſcarry. For how is it conceivable that Men, who in other matters are ſo ſolicitous when their Intereſt is at Stake, and expoſed to the leaſt Hazard, ſhould believe that they have Souls in Danger of periſhing for ever, and yet take no more Care or Regard of them, but (like the forgetful Mother, who, when her Houſe was on Fire, to ſave her Goods forgot her Child) lay out all their thoughts upon the little Concerns of this frail and mortal Life, and in the mean time forget their precious Souls, and leave them periſhing in the Flames of Perdition? O ſtupid Creature! what art thou made of that canſt conſider that thou haſt an immortal Soul, ſurrounded with ſo many Dangers of being loſt for ever, and yet be no more concerned for its Preſervation? Methinks if thou hadſt any Senſe in thee, having a Proſpect of ſuch endleſs Miſeries before thee, the remoteſt Poſſibility of falling into them ſhould be enough to ſtartle and awake thee; but when thou art ſo near the Brink of thoſe Miſeries, and haſt ſo many Cauſes round about thee ſhoving thee forward, and thruſting thee headlong down into them, and yet be no more concerned at it, is ſuch a Prodigy of ſenſleſs Stupidity, as Heaven and Earth may juſtly be aſtoniſhed at. 'Tis true, if the Danger thou art in were ſuch as is impoſſible to be evaded, it would then be the wiſest Courſe thou couldſt take to concern thy ſelf as little as may be about it; but rather to live merrily whilſt thou mayſt, and not antedate thy Miſery, by thinking of the diſmal Futurity. But God be praiſed this is not our Caſe, though our Condition be dangerous, yet it is far from deſperate; for if we will uſe our honeſt Endeavour, and vigorouſly exert the Faculties of our Nature, we not only may, but ſhall eſcape. There are indeed a great many Cauſes of our Danger, a great many Enemies concurring to our Ruin, but none of theſe are able to effect it, unleſs we our ſelves joyn hands in the fatal Conſpiracy: If we will be but faithful Friends to our ſelves, and true to our own eternal Intereſt, it will be beyond the power of all thoſe Cauſes together to do us any material Injury. For bleſſed be the good God thoſe that are for us, are far greater and mightier than thoſe that are againſt us; againſt us we have the World, the Fleſh, and the Devil, the weakest of which is, I confeſs, a dangerous and puiſſant Enemy; but for us we have God and Angels, and our own Reaſon aſſiſted with the moſt invincible Motives; with vaſt and glorious Promiſes, that ſtand beckoning to us with Crowns of Immortality in their Hands, to call us off from the Purſuit of our Luſts to the Practice of Virtue and Religion; with direful Threatnings, that are continually Alarming and warning us of the dreadful Conſequents of our Sins; and ſundry other ſuch mighty, I had almoſt ſaid Almighty Motives, as, if we would ſeriouſly attend to, would certainly render our Souls impregnable againſt all the Temptations of Vice. And beſides our Reaſon thus Armed and Accountered, we have on our ſide the Holy Angels of God, who are always ready to prompt us to, and aſſiſt us in our Duty, and to ſecond us in all our ſpiritual Combats againſt the Enemies of our Souls. And beſides all theſe we have with us the Almighty Spirit of God, who upon our ſincere Deſires and honeſt Endeavours is engaged to aid us, and co-operate with us in working out our Salvation; whoſe Grace is abundantly ſufficient for us, to ſtrengthen us in our Weakneſs, to ſupport us under our greateſt Difficulties, and carry us on victoriouſly through the moſt violent Temptations. And being back't with ſuch mighty Auxiliaries, how is it poſſible that we ſhould miſcarry, unleſs we are reſolved to betray our ſelves, and give fire to the fatal Trains of our Enemies; and if we are ſo bent there is no Remedy for our Obſtinacy, and it is juſt and fit we ſhould be left to the diſmal and pitileſs Effect of our own Folly and Madneſs. For if when we ſee our ſleves in ſo much danger, and it is yet in our Power to eſcape if we pleaſe, we will notwithſtanding precipitate our ſelves into Ruin; all the World muſt agree upon an impartial Inquiſition for the Blood of our Souls, that we murdered our ſelves, that God is juſt, and that his hands are clean from any ſtain of our Blood, and that our own Ruin is wholly owing to our own invincible Obſtinacy.
III. I proceed now to the Third Propoſition, That our renouncing of Chriſt, and his Religion, will moſt certainly infer the loſs of our Souls. For, as I have ſhewed you, theſe Words are urged by our Saviour as a Motive to deter his Diſciples from forſaking him, as is plain from Ver. 24, 25. which neceſſarily ſuppoſes that upon their forſaking him, this Loſs would moſt certainly and inevitably follow. In the Proſecution therefore of this Argument I ſhall endeavour theſe two things.
1. To ſhew you what that forſaking of Chriſt is, which infers this Loſs.
2. Upon what Accounts our thus forſaking him infers it.
1. What that forſaking of Chriſt is, which infers this Loſs. To which I anſwer, there is a Four-Fold Forſaking of Chriſt, which the Scripture takes notice of as capital and damnable to the Souls of Men.
1. When we forſake him by a total Apoſtacy.
2ly. When we cowardly renounce the Profeſſion of his Doctrine, or any Part of it, notwithſtanding we ſtill believe and are convinced of the Truth of it.
3. When by obſtinate Hereſy we either add to, or ſubtract from the Faith of Chriſt.
4ly. When by any wilful Courſe of Diſobedience we do vertually renounce the Authority of his Laws.
1. We loſe and forfeit our Souls, when we forſake Chriſt by a total Apoſtacy from him: When after we have been Baptized into his Name, and thereby have made a viſible Profeſſion of our believing his Doctrines, and obeying his Laws, we turn Runagadoes, and caſt off our Belief of the one, and diſown our Obligation to the other; we do moſt juſtly incur the Loſs and Forfeiture of our Souls. For ſo strong and cogent is the Evidence of Chriſtianity, that it is not to be ſuppoſed that any profeſſed Christian can be either innocently or excuſably ſeduced into a Disbelief of it; For Religion being a Matter of the vaſteſt Moment and Concern, he is a Traytor to himſelf that either takes up his Religion without Examination, or that upon Examination refuſes to be ſwayed by the ſtrongeſt Reaſon; And I am ſure it is impoſſible for any Christian to turn Infidel that is but ſo honeſt to himſelf as first to examine carefully the Reaſons of his Faith, and then to reſolve ſincerely not to reject it till better Reaſons appear to the contrary; But if either through their wilful Ignorance of the Evidence of Chriſtianity, or vicious Prejudice againſt the Purity of it, they ſuffer themſelves to be ſeduced into Apoſtacy, they are falſe Traytors to themſelves, and as ſuch are juſtly liable to all thoſe eternal Damages they expoſe themſelves to. And hence it is ſaid of thoſe that draw-back, that is, apoſtatize from Chriſtianity, not only that God's Soul ſhall have no pleaſure in them, but alſo that they draw back to perdition, Heb. 10.38, 39. and 2 Pet. 2.20. It is ſaid of thoſe Apoſtates, that their latter end is worſe than the beginning; and that it had been better for them not to have known the way of Righteouſneſs, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy Commandment; which implies that Apostates from Chriſtianity do not only forfeit their Souls, but that without Repentance they will be for ever forfeited to the moſt wretched Condition, even to the nethermoſt Degree of Perdition.
2ly. We loſe our Souls when notwithſtanding we do ſtill believe, and are convinced of the Truth of Chriſt's Doctrine, we do cowardly renounce the Profeſſion of it, or any Part of it. For when once we have received the Faith of Chriſt, we are thereby obliged not to renounce the Profeſſion of it whatſoever Hazard it may expoſe us to, our bleſſed Lord having aſſured us that if we deny him before Men, he will alſo deny us before his Father which is in Heaven, Mat. 10.33. And St. Paul alſo having warned us, that if we deny Chriſt, he will alſo dany us, 2 Tim. 2.12. That is, that he will reject and abandon us before God and Angels to everlaſting Miſery and Damnation; for ſo St. John aſſures us, Rev. 2.8. that the fearful and unbelieving, i.e. the faint-hearted Cowards that for fear of Perſecution renounce the Profeſſion of the Goſpel, ſhall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimſtone. Not that in Times of Perſecution we are always bound to make an actual Profeſſion and Publication of our Faith, to run to the Tribunals of our Perſecutors before we are ſent for, and accuſe our ſelves of thoſe Doctrines for which we are Perſecuted; but whenever we are apprehended, accuſed, and examined by them, either upon knowledge or ſuſpicion, we are bound under the Penalty of forfeiting our Souls to own and confeſs our Faith, and not to deny any Doctrine or Article of it, whatſoever the Conſequence may be. For in this Caſe to deny our Belief is not only a wilful Lye, which is in it ſelf a damnable Crime, but an Act of High-Treaſon againſt our Lord and Saviour; for by renouncing any Doctrine which he hath revealed and committed to us, we do not only betray his Truſt, but blaſpheme his Veracity; to deny what we believe he hath revealed, being in effect to declare him a Cheat and an Impoſtor. And having thus incurred the Guilt of ſo black a Treaſon againſt our Saviour, and wilfully perſiſting in it, what can we expect the Conſequence of it ſhould be, but the eternal Loſs and Perdition of our Souls?
3ly. We forſake Chriſt to the Loſs and Forfeiture of our Souls, when by obſtinate Hereſy we add to, or ſubtract from that Heavenly Doctrine which he hath revealed to us. By Hereſy I do not mean barely a falſe Opinion in our Religion whether it be of greater or leſſer Moment; for I doubt not but the ſame Error May be an innocent Miſtake in one Man, and a damnable Hereſy in another; that in the one it may be the Effect of a weak Underſtanding, but in the other, of a perverſe and obſtinate Will; and when the Underſtanding miſleads the Will it is Weakneſs, but when the Will miſleads the Underſtanding it is Wickedneſs. For ſimple Error is only a defect of Underſtanding, which in a fallible Creature is every whit as inculpable as Sickneſs in a mortal one; but Hereſy is a Fault of the Will, which is the only Subject of Vertue and Vice. When therefore by the wicked Prejudice of our corrupt Wills againſt the Purity of Chriſtianity, our Underſtanding is betrayed into looſe and erroneous Principles; when we underſtand by our vicious Affections, and adapt our Opinions to the Intereſts of our Luſts; when we believe for the ſake of any darling Vice, and ſuffer our own factious, covetous, and extravagant Paſſions either to tempt us to profeſs thoſe erreneous Opinions which we do not believe, or to prejudice us into a Belief of them; then is our Error no longer to be attributed to the Weakneſs of our Underſtanding, but to the Wickedneſs of our Wills which Improves our Error into a damnable Hereſy. For he would be a wicked Man, though he were not an Heretick, that harbours thoſe ſinful Luſts which betrayed him into Hereſy; but by being an Heretick he is much more wicked, becauſe now he is wicked under a Pretence of Religion, and cloaks his Impieties with the Garments of Righteouſneſs. And what greater Prophaneneſs can any Man be guilty of, than to make his Religion a Baud to procure for his Luſts? So that if out of a vicious Propenſion of Will we obſtinately perſiſt in any Religious Errors, we are not only guilty of that wicked Propenſion which is of it ſelf ſufficient to ruin our Souls; but we are alſo accountable for vitiating our Religion with thoſe erroneous Mixtures by which we have rendered it a Shelter and Protection to our Luſt. And what the Conſequence of this will be St. Jude will inform us, who ſpeaking of certain Hereticks, who to gratifie their own wicked Inclinations, had ſophiſticated Christianity with ſundry black and poiſonous Principles, pronounces this fearful Doom on them; for whom is reſerved the blackneſs of darkneſs for ever, ver. 13.
4ly. And laſtly, We forſake Chriſt to the Loſs and Forfeiture of our Souls, when by any wilful Courſe of Diſobedience we do virtually renounce the Authority of his Laws. For whilſt we continue in any Courſe of wilful Sin, we live in an open Rebellion to our Saviour, and do by our Actions declare that we will not have him to Reign over us. And accordingly, Tit. 1.16. the abominable and diſobedient are ſaid to deny God in their works, even while they profeſs to know him; and what the Fate of ſuch will be, St. Paul hath forewarned us, Rom. 2.8, 9. But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteouſneſs; indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguiſh upon every Soul of Man that doth evil, of the Jew firſt, and alſo of the Gentile. And the ſame Apoſtle ſpeaking of theſe obſtinate Rebels, who live and perſiſt in an open Defiance to our Saviour's Authority, tells us that they ſhall be puniſhed with everlaſting destruction from the preſence of the Lord, 2. Theſ. 1.8, 9. But before we diſmiſs this Argument, it will be requiſite more particularly to explain what thoſe wilful Courſes of Sin are by which they thus renounce him; all which may be reduced to theſe three Heads. Firſt, We renounce the Authority of his Laws, when we ſin againſt him out of wilful Ignorance of them. Secondly, When we ſin on againſt him out of wilful Inconſideration of our Obligation to them. Thirdly, When we perſiſt in our ſin againſt Knowledge and Conſideration.
1. We vertually renounce the Authority of our Saviour, when we ſin on againſt him out of wilful Ignorance of his Laws. For the Laws of our Saviour, in which the great Lines of our Duty are deſcribed, are ſo plain and legible, that no Man can be long excuſably ignorant of them. But if our Ignorance proceed either first from a profane and profligate Mind that is altogether regardleſs of God, and hath utterly worn off its natural ſenſe of Religion, and ſo neither heeds it nor concerns it ſelf about it, but is become quite deaf to all the Means of Inſtruction; or if it proceed, Secondly, from the vicious Prejudice of our Wills, and we Induſtriouſly ſet our ſelves for the ſake of ſome darling Luſt, to exclude from our Minds all the Means of Conviction; and either ſtudiouſly to avoid all thoughts of Religion, that we may ſin on without diſturbance, which is the way of thoſe that are openly Profane and Irreligious; or to uſe all poſſible Arts to wheedle our Underſtandings into the Belief of ſuch Principles as are moſt indulgent to our Luſts, which is the way of Hypocrites and falſe Pretenders to Religion: If, I ſay, our Ignorance of Chriſt's Laws proceeds from either of theſe Cauſes, it will no more excuſe our falling into ſin, than the want of Light will a Man's falling into a Ditch that ſhuts his Eyes at Noon, and winks on purpoſe leſt he ſhould ſee, and eſcape the Danger that is before him. But then
2ly. We vertually renounce the Authority of our Saviour, when we ſin on againſt him out of a wilful Inconſideration of our Obligations to obey him. For we being reaſonable Creatures, are bound by the very Conſtitution of our Natures to act conſiderately, eſpecially in matters of Religion, which are of the greateſt Moment and Importance to us; ſo that if we miſcarry herein through wilful Inconſideration, we are every whit as inexcuſable as if we had conſiderately betrayed our ſelves. Now wilful Inconſideration is either actual or habitual; Actual, is either, firſt when notwithſtandin we have been ſufficiently warned by precedent Surprizes, we take no care for the future; for though it cannot be expected we ſhould always keep ſo strict a Guard upon our ſelves, as never to be ſurprized by an Enemy; yet when we have been overtaken, there is all the Reaſon in the World we ſhould take warning by it, and grow more wary and vigilant for the future; that we ſhould awaken in our Minds ſuch Conſiderations as are neceſſary to prevent our being ſurprized again, which if we do not, our next Surprize will be inexcuſable. And if the ſenſe of the Lapſe which was perhaps but an innocent Error, or at moſt but a Sin of Infirmity, doth not make us more careful of our ſelves for the future; the next will be a wilful Fall: Or elſe in the ſecond Place, this actual wilful Inconſideration is, when upon the preſenting of any beloved Temptation we either quench the good Motions of our Minds, and refuſe to conſider the Evil and Danger of the Sin we are tempted to, leſt we ſhould be thereby deterred from committing it; or purpoſely contrive to baſfle our own Conſideration by oppoſing it either with ſome ungrounded Hope of Impunity, or ſome fallacious Promiſe of future Amendment; and if to make way for our ſin, we do either of theſe ways wilfully drive all good thoughts from our Minds leſt they ſhould diſturb and interupt us in the Injoyment of it, our Inconſideration is to be reſolved into the Wickedneſs of our Wills, and not into the Weakneſs and Infirmity of our Natures. And he that will not conſider becauſe he will ſin, and afterwards extenuate his ſin by his Inconſideration, urges one ſin in excuſe for another, and makes that which is his Fault. his Apology. Whenſoever therefore we ſin out of any actual and wilful Inconſideration, we ſin wilfully, and conſequently do thereby vertually renounce the Authority of our Saviour; the final Event of which, without our Repentance, will be our everlaſting Ruin and Perdition. But then beſides this actual there is alſo an habitual Inconſideration, which is wilful; and that is, when by often ſtifling the Convictions of our Conſciences we have ſeared them into a deep Inſenſibility of Good and Evil, ſo as that now we ſin on without any Remorſe or Reluctancy, and return to our Luſts with the ſame indifferency as we do to our Beds or our Tables, without either conſidering what we are doing, or reflecting on what we have done; And this is ſo far from palliating our ſin, that it is one of the higheſt Aggravations of it: For as it is no excuſe that we ſin out of an evil Habit which we voluntarily contracted by frequent Acts of ſin, ſo neither will it at all excuſe us that we ſin out of an habitual Inconſideration which we wilfully contracted by often refuſing to conſider. But as vicious Habits have a proper Evil and Guiltineſs in them diſtinct from thoſe vicious Acts that produced them; ſo habitual Inconſideration hath in it a peculiar Venom of its own beyond what was in thoſe actual Inconſiderations whereby it was acquired. And accordingly it is deſcribed in the Scripture as the worſt, the moſt deſperate and incurable ſtate of a Sinner: It is called a reprobate-Mind, Rom. 1.28, 29. a ſcared Conſcience, 1 Tim. 4.2. a hard and unrelenting heart that treaſureth us wrath againſt the day of wrath, Rom. 2.5. So that if we go on in ſin without conſidering, with a Mind habitually regardleſs and inſenſible, we are hardned and inveterate Rebels, that have not only renounced the Authority of our Saviour, but have alſo forfeited our Selves, and that almoſt irreparably againſt all his Methods of conquering and ſubduing us. But then
3ly. And Laſtly, We vertually renounce the Authority of our Saviour, when we perſiſt in our ſin againſt Knowledge and Conſideration. For to ſin on obſtinately againſt Knowledge and Conſideration, argues an invincible Malice of Will; for tho' the Condition of the ignorant and inconſiderate Sinner be very ſad and deplorable, yet there is much more Hope of him becauſe he hath never yet had the Force and Efficacy of Knowledge and Conſideration, which perhaps, if ever he be brought to experience, may prove a ſucceſsful Means of his Cure and Reformation. But the knowing and conſiderate Sinner hath tryed and conquered the Remedy, hath experimented the only means of his Cure, and yet it grows worſe and worſe under the Application; he knows what his ſin is, and conſiders the Conſequence of it, and yet ſins on; which argues a deſperate Reſolution of Will in him thus to run himſelf upon a foreſeen Ruin, and leap into Hell with his Eyes open. And what Hope is there of diſſuading him from his ſin, that knows and conſiders the Arguments againſt it, and every day breaks through them all at the Call of every ſinful Temptation? And as his Condition is moſt deſperate, ſo his Soul is moſt guilty and criminal; for every Act of his ſin is an open Defiance to the Authority of God and his Saviour; his Rebellion is barefac'd, and hath no manner of Pretence wherein to mask or diſguiſe it ſelf; and he knows and owns himſelf to be in a Rebellion, and yet perſeveres in it, which extreamly aggravates and inhanſes the Guilt of it. For the Sinfulneſs and Immorality of Actions is to be meaſured by the Degrees of Will that are in them, and the Degrees of Will in them are more or leſs proportionably, as the Nature and Evil of them is more or leſs known and conſidered. Hence is that of St. James 4.17. To him that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is ſin. Had he not known the Nature of his Action, the Weakneſs of his Underſtanding would have excuſed the Error of his Will, and render'd it pardonable at leaſt, if not altogether innocent: But when his Underſtanding hath diſcharged its Office, and ſhewed him the Evil that he ought to avoid, that hath fairly acquitted its ſelf, and can ſtand no longer chargable for his Miſcarriages: So that now the Man chooſes his own Peril, and if he ſtill chooſe what he ought to avoid, his Underſtanding is clear, and his Will alone is Culpable. And when our Rebellion againſt our Saviour is not only wilful, but the wilfulneſs of it is ſo extreamly aggravated by our Knowledge and Conſideration, what the Conſequence of it will be that fearful Paſſage will aſſure us, Luke 12.47. The Servant that knoweth his Maſters will and doth it not, ſhall be beaten with many Stripes. And thus I have endeavoured to repreſent to you what that Forſaking of Chriſt is, which expoſes us to the Hazard of loſing our Souls.
II. I proceed in the next Place to ſhew you upon what Accounts it is that our forſaking of Chriſt infers this fearful Loſs; of which, I ſhall Briefly give you this four-fold Account.
1. Our thus forſaking of Christ infers the Loſs of our Souls, as it is a moſt inexcuſable Contempt of the greateſt Mercy.
2ly. As it renders us the moſt unfitting Objects of Mercy for the future.
3ly. As it is an open Violation of the fixed and ſtated Condition of Mercy.
4ly. As it is an utter Rejection of our laſt Remedy.
1. Our forſaking of Chriſt by any of the aforenamed Inſtances infers the everlaſting Loſs of our Souls, as it is a moſt inexcuſable Contempt of the greateſt Mercy. For when the Son of God came down from Heaven, he brought from thence with him the largeſt Offers of Mercy that Heaven it ſelf could make to a ſinful World; he did not only bring down with him a Grant of univerſal Pardon and Indemnity under the Broad-Seal of Heaven for every Sinner that would lay down his Arms, and return to his Allegiance, together with the moſt endearing Invitations of the God of Heaven, to woo and win us to accept it; but he alſo brought along with him all that an everlaſting Heaven means, Crowns of Immortal Glory and Pleaſure to encourage us to, and reward our Acceptance of them. And what greater Mercy could the God of Heaven have expreſſed to us, than to ſend down his bleſſed Son, not only to tender to us an Indemnity, but alſo to invite us to accept it with a Promiſe of Heaven? So that if now we reject him, now he is come to us with ſuch vast and endearing Propoſals, what an intolerable ſlight will it be to the tender Mercies of God? When we ſhall declare by our Actions that we will not exchange the ſordid Pleaſures of our Luſt for the Pardon of Heaven, for the Favour of God, and for all the Hopes of a glorious Immortality? How can we expect any farther Relief from God's Mercy, after we have put ſuch an intolerable Affront upon it by preferring ſuch an unworthy Rival before it? When God hath laid his Pardon, his Love, and his Heaven in our Way, to ſtop us in our ſinful Courſes, what a barbarous Indignity will it be to trample upon them all, and run over them into Hell? With what Face can we hope for any farther kindneſs from Heaven, after we have treated its Kindneſs with ſo much Rudeneſs and Contempt? Certainly for ſinful Men to reject and run away from their Saviour, when he comes to them with ſo much Kindneſs, when he courts them with ſuch aſtoniſhing Expreſſions of Mercy, is a Provocation ſufficient to incenſe an infinite Goodneſs, and turn the tendereſt Mercy into an implacable Fury. And when infinite Love is ſo infinitely provoked, what leſs Expiation can it claim and exact, than the everlasting Ruin and Perdition of our Souls?
2ly. Our Forſaking of Chriſt infers the everlaſting Loſs of our Souls, as it renders us the moſt incapable Objects of Mercy for the future. For when we are arrived to that Height of Wickedneſs as finally to reject Chriſt, and the Mercies of his Goſpel, there is no farther Mercy that we are capable of; if after this God ſhould be ſo kind and indulgent as to pardon us, alas! what would it ſignify? for we ſhould ſtill be wretched and miſerable in Deſpight of his Pardon; and that wicked Temper of Mind which made us reject our Saviour, would be an everlasting Hell to us though it ſhould indemnifie us. What will a Pardon avail a Man that is dying of the Stone or Strangury? He can but die if he be not pardoned, and die he muſt though he be. And as little Advantage it would be to a wicked Soul to be pardoned and abſolved by God, while ſhe hath a Diſeaſe within her that preys upon her Vitals, and haſtens her to a certain Ruin. She could have been but miſerable in the future Life if ſhe had not been pardoned, and miſerable ſhe muſt be if ſhe continues wicked, whether ſhe be pardoned or no; there being an everlasting Hell in the very Nature of Wickedneſs, which no outward Act of Pardon can quench or extinguiſh. Nay, if after our rejecting Chriſt, and the Mercies of the Goſpel, God ſhould not only pardon, but admit us into Heaven, and indulge us the free Enjoyment of all its Pleaſures and Felicities; yet that vicious Temper of Mind which finally ſeduccd us from our Saviour, would render us for ever incapable of reliſhing the Joys of it. Thoſe Rivers of Heavenly Pleaſure would never agree with the helliſh Temper of our Minds, which, like a feveriſh Tongue, would utterly diſguſt their delicious Streams by Reaſon of its own overflowing Gall. So that after we have finally rejected our Saviour, we are neither capable of being indemnifyed from Hell, nor of enjoying Heaven; and having caſt our ſelves beyond the Reach of all Mercy, into a State wherein we can neither begin to be happy, nor ceaſe to be miſerable, our Caſe is deſperate, and there is no Remedy but our Souls muſt be loſt and undone for ever.
3ly. Our forſaking of Chriſt infers the everlaſting Loſs of our Souls, as it is an open Violation of the fixed and ſtated Condition of Mercy. The fixed and immoveable Condition of the Mercy of the Goſpel is, that we ſhould conſtantly adhere to our Saviour by a true Faith and a ſincere Obedience, and that whenever we fall off from him either into Infidelity, or Hereſy, or Diſobedience, we ſhould remember from whence we are fallen, and return again to him by a deep and ſerious Repentance. And indeed this Condition is ſo low and condeſcending, that it was impoſſible for the wiſe God and Governour of the World, to propoſe his Mercy to us at a lower or eaſier Rate; and if God ſhould have asked our Conſent upon what Conditions he ſhould propoſe to us the Mercies of his Goſpel, this would have been the utmoſt Favour that we could in Modeſty have craved of him, that he would be ſo gracious as to accept our unfeigned Faith and ſincere Obedience; and that whenever we fall off either from the one or the other, he would admit us to Repentance, and receive us again upon our Return and Amendment. And ſhould he have propoſed his Mercy to us upon lower Terms, he muſt of Neceſſity have let go the Reins of his Government, and given us a free Toleration for all manner of Wickedneſs. Had the Condition of his Mercy been but one ſtep lower than Repentance, it had totally diſſolved the Obligation of his Laws, and reduced the humane World into a perfect Anarchy. For ſhould be have proſtituted his Mercy to impenitent Sinners, he muſt have made it a Refuge for obſtinate Rebels to fly to, and ſhelter themſelves from the Reach of his Authority; and how inconſiſtent would this have been with the Wiſdom of his Government? This therefore being the loweſt Condition upon which the wiſe and holy God can propoſe his Mercy to us, there is no Ground to hope that after we have rejected this, and are finally fallen off from it, he will make any new Propoſal to us. For he hath yielded as much already to the Weakneſs and Inconſtancy of our Natures, as he could poſſibly do with ſafety to his Government; and if this will not ſuffice, we may depend upon it that he will rather conſent to ſacrifice our Souls to his righteous Vengeance, than his own Authority to our obſtinate Wills. So that when once we have finally rejected our Saviour, and ſhaken hands for ever with Faith and Obedience, and Repentance too, we are quite beyond the Reach of any wiſe Mercy; and then how deplorable muſt our Condition be, when Things are reduced to this deſperate Iſſue, That God muſt either conſent to be fooliſhly merciful to us, or to abandon our Souls to everlaſting Perdition?
4ly. And laſtly, Our forſaking of Chriſt infers the everlaſting Loſs of our Souls, as it is an utter Rejection of our laſt Remedy. For the laſt Remedy which God hath prepared for Mankind to heal the Malignity of their Natures, and recover them from eternal Miſery, is the meritorious Death and Sacrifice of his Bleſſed Son, who voluntarily undertaking to be the Attorney-General, and Common Repreſentative of ſinful Men, ſuffered Death in our ſtead as a vicarious Mulct and Puniſhment for our Sins; upon which the moſt merciful Father hath granted to all believing and truly penitent Sinners, a general Indemnity from eternal Puniſhments, to which they were bound over by their Sins and Rebellions; by virtue of which Grant as ſoon as we believe in Chriſt, and do thereupon ſincerely Repent of our Sins, we are totally abſolved from thoſe everlaſting Puniſhments whereunto they have expoſed and obliged us. And this Sacrifice of Chriſt being the laſt Remedy which God hath provided for our Guilt, and the Grant of Pardon God hath made in Conſideration of it, being confined to believing and penitent Sinners, it hence neceſſarily follows, that they who finally perſiſt in Ʋnbelief or Impenitency, do thereby for ever cut themſelves off from all Intereſt in that Sacrifice; and from all Title to that Pardon that is granted upon it, and conſequently leave themſelves for ever deſtitute of all Hope of Pardon and Indemnity for the future. So that by renouncing Christ we do renounce his Sacrifice, which is the laſt and only Remedy we have to depend upon. Hence Heb. 10.26. we are told, that if we ſin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more ſacrifice for ſin; that is, after we have been Baptized, and Initiated into Chriſtianity, we relapſe into Infidelity or wilful Diſobedience, we do thereby forfeit our Intereſt in Chriſt's Sacrifice; and when we have once rejected our Intereſt in that, there remains no other Sacrifice for Sin, i.e. no other Sacrifice upon which God will Pardon and Indemnify us. So that now all that remains to us, is that which follows in the next Verſe, viz. A certain fearful looking for of judgment, and fiery indignation, which ſhall devour the Adverſaries. For when we have finally baffled our laſt and utmoſt Remedy, the Condition of our Souls muſt needs be deſperate and incurable. When by our obſtinate Unbelief or final Impenitence we have out-ſinned the Virtue of our Saviour's Sacrifice, we are out of the Reach and Compaſs of God's Pardon, and ſo conſequently are ſunk beyond all Hopes of Recovery, into endleſs and irreverſible Damnation. For now that precious Blood which, if we had believed and repented, would have ſpoke better things for us than the Blood of Abel, will riſe in Judgment againſt us, and, like the Blood of thoſe Souls that are under the Altar, will Charge and Impeach, and be continually imprecating the Vengeance of Heaven upon us. And when that which was prepared for the laſt and utmost Remedy of our Souls ſhall be converted into their Bane, and that which was intended for their Advocate ſhall become their Accuſer; when that vocal Blood and thoſe ſpeaking Wounds which pleaded for, ſhall plead againſt, and cry out inſtantly for Judgment upon them; what can they henceforth expect but everlaſting Ruin and Deſtruction?