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PRIVATE THOUGHTS,

IN T^'O PARTS COMPLETE. J--r7^DOfir-^w

UPON v

RELIGIO

DIGESTED INTO

TWELVE ARTICLES;

WITH

JPJBACTNKBAIL Effi8©lLIira©HS.

FORMED THEREUPON.

PART II.

UPON A

CHRISTIAN LIFE;

OR, NECESSARY

DIRECTIONS

FOR ITS BEGINNING AND PROGRESS UPON

EARTH,

IN ORDER TO ITS FINAL PERFECTION IN THE

BBATIfflO VISKDH.

BY THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IK GOD,

WILLIAM *BEVERIDGE, D. D.

Late Lord Bishop of St. Asaph.

A NEW EDITION, TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, THE

LIFE AND CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR.

DERBY:

PRINTED BY AND FOR HENRY MOZLEY, BROOK-STREET. 1817-

THE

LIFE AND CHARACTER

OF THE

AUTHOR

f I^HIS excellent Prelate, who, by his learning and piety JL was one of the brightest ornaments to the church of England in his time, was born at Barrow, in Leicestershire in the year 1638- — he was educated at St. John's college, Cambridge, where he applied with great assiduity to the study of the oriental languages, and made such proficiency in this part of learning, that at eighteen years of age he wrote a treatise of the Excellency and Use of the Oriental Tongues, especially the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, and Samaritan, with a Syriac Grammar. The 3d of Ja- nuary, 1 660-1, he was ordained Deacon by Robert, Bi- shop of Lincoln, and Priest the 31st of that month, and about the same time was presented to the viqarage of Ealing in Middlesex, which he resigned about a year af- ter, upon his being chosen Rector of St. Peter's, Cornhill, by the Lord Mayor and Aldermen of London. He ap- plied himself to the discharge of his ministry, with the ut- most zeal and assiduity. He was highly instructive in his discourses from the pulpit ; and his labours were crowned with such success that he was styled the great reviver and restorer of primitive piety. Bishop Hinchman, his dio- cesan, having conceived a great esteem for him, collated him to the prebend of Chiswick, in the cathedral of St. Paul's on the 22d of December, 1674 ; and this bishop's successor, Dr. Compton, conferred upon him the archdea- conry of Colchester, on the 3d of November, 1 68 1 . No- vember the 5th, 1684, he was installed prebendary of Canterbury, and about the same time was appointed chap- A 2

* LIFE OP THE AUTHOR.

lain to king William and queen Mary. In 1691 he was offered, but refused to accept of, the see of Bath and Wells? vacant by the deprivation of Dr. Kenn, for not taking the oaths to king William and queen Mary. But some time after he accepted of that of St. Asaph, and was consecrat- ed July 1 6, 1 704. Upon his advancement to the episco- pal chair, he wrote a most pathetic letter to the clergy of his diocese, recommending to them " The duty of cate- " chizing and instructing the people committed to their <f charge, in the principles of the Christian religion, to u the end they might know what they were to believe, " and do, in order to salvation." And, to enable them to do this the more effectually, he, sent them a plain exposi- tion upon the church catechism. This good Prelate did not enjoy his episcopal station above three years and some months, for he died March the 5th, 1707, im the 71st year of his age, and was buried in St. Paul's cathedral. He left the greatest part of his estate to the societies for propagating Christian knowledge. To the curacy of Mount Sorrel, and vicarage of Barrow, in the county of Leicester, he bequeathed twenty pounds a-year, on con- dition that prayers be read morning and evening every day, according to the liturgy of the church of England, in the chapel and parish church aforesaid ; with the sum of forty shillings yearly to be divided equally upon Christ- mas-eve, among eight poor house-keepers of Barrow, as the minister and church- wardens should agree.

Bishop Beveridge has had a high character given him by several writers. The author of a letter published in the Guardian,, having made an extract out of the I ishop's first sermon in the second volume relating to the Deity, tells lis, that it may for acuteness of judgment, ornament of speech, and true sublime, compare with any of the choic- est writings of the ancient fathers, or doctors of the church, who lived nearest to the apostles' times. Dr. Henry Fel- ton, in his dissertation on reading the classics and form- ing a just style, written in the year 1709, &c. tells us, " That our learned and venerable Bishop hath delivered " himself with those ornaments alone, which his subject .2

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. i»

u suggested to him, and hath written in that plainness " and solemnity of style, that gravity and simplicity, which " give authority to the sacred truths he teacheth, and un- " answerable evidence to the doctrines he defendeth ; that " there is something so great, primitive, and apostolical " in his writings, that it creates an awe and veneration in " our mind. That the importance of his subjects is above " the decoration of words, and what is great and majestic " in itself, looketh most like itself, the less it is adorned." The true sublime in the great articles of our faith is lodged in the plainest words. The divine revelations are best ex- pressed in the language they were revealed in ; and, as I observed before of the Scriptures, they will suffer no orna- ment nor amendment. Thus Dr. Felton.

Another writer gives this character of our excellent Bishop. ** This great and good Bishop had very early ad- " dieted himself to piety and a religious course of life, of " which his Private Thoughts upon Religion will be a last- ' ' ing evidence. They were written in his younger years ; " and he must a considerable time before this, have de- ' ' voted himself to such practices, otherwise he could ne- " ver have drawn up so judicious and sound a declaration " of his faith, nor have formed such excellent resolutions " so agreeable to the Christian life in all its parts. These " things shew him to be acquainted with the life and power " of religion long before, and that even from a child he knew " the Holy Scriptures. And as his piety was early, so it " was very eminent and conspicuous, in all the parts and " stations of his life. As he had formed such good resolu- " tions, he made suitable improvements upon them ; and " they, at length, grew up into such settled habits, that " all his actions savoured of nothing but piety and reli- " gion. His holy example was a very great ornament to " our church ; and he honoured his profession and func- " tion by zealously discharging all the duties thereof. " How remarkable was his piety towards God ! What an u awful sense of the divine Majesty did he always express ! " How did he delight in his worship and service and fre- " quent his house of prayer ! How great was his charity to A 3

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

" men ; how earnestly was he concerned for their welfare, " as his pathetic addresses to them in his discourses plain- " ly discover ! How did the Christian spirit run through all " his actions, and what a wonderful pattern was he of " primitive purity, holiness, and devotion ! As he was re- w markable for his great piety and zeal for religion, so he " was highly to be esteemed for his learning, which he " wholly applied to promote the interest of his great Mas- " ter. He was one of extensive and almost universal read- " ing ; he was well skilled in the oriental languages, and " the Jewish learning, as may appear from many of his t( sermons ; and, indeed, he was furnished to a very emi- " nent degree with all useful knowledge. He was very ec much to be admired for his readiness in the scriptures : " he had made it his business to acquaint himself tho- u roughly with those sacred oracles, whereby he was fur- " nished unto all good works : he was able to produce suit- " able passages from them on all occasions, and was very " happy in explaining them to others. Thus he improved " his time and his abilities in serving God, and doing u good, till he arrived at a good old age, when it pleased <* his great Master to give him rest from his labours, and " to assign him a place in those mansions of bliss, where " he had always laid up his treasure, and to which his " heart had been all along devoted through the whole " course of his life and actions. He was so highly esteem. " ed among all learned and good men, that when he was " dying, one of the chief of his order deservedly said of "him, There goes one of the greatest , and one of the best " men, that ever England bred."

Notwithstanding these just and candid opinions, it must not be concealed, that the enemies of the truths, which this good Bishop maintained, or rather which the church of England maintains in her articles and homilies (for the Bishop held no other) made a virulent attack upon his writings soon after his decease. At that time, as well as at this, there were people, who could pretend to subscribe the articles ex animo for preferment, without believing a word of them ; and, not satisfied with his duplicity, could

LIFE OF THE AUTHOR. 7

have the effrontery likewise to be very angry with those, who conscientiously did believe and honestly professed them. The Bishop has been charged with absurdities upon the doctrine of the Trinity, with downright Calva-» nism, &c. — but, let it be remembered, it was by Antitrini- tarians, Pelagians, Socinians, &c. who it must be owned, are not very fair judges upon the case. His Private Thoughts, than which we have very few more excellent books, have been a particular object of their animadversion. One hun- dredth part of this good man's piety, in his adversaries, would have led them to different conclusions, and have caused at least a silent reverence for a character, which very few men of any order are over-disposed to excel. If such men as Whist on, and Collins his admirer, were to dictate the rules of orthodoxy ; we can easily guess what would become of all the confessions and formularies of faith, which are supported by divine authority and by di- vine grace witnessing their truth in men's hearts and lives; and, what sort of respect might be shewn, in a very little time afterwards, to the Bible itself: for the humour of im- peaching divine, as well as political, positions knows no end, but subversion and anarchy. However, we have reason to be thankful for that gracious promise, that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church or truths of God, to the end of the world ; and, therefore, we need not be more deeply concerned, than in charity we ought to be for the self-deluding innovators themselves, con- cerning a matter, which has the wisdom of God to con- duct, and the power of God to support it at all times.

Bishop Beveridge left many works. Those published by himself are as follows : " I. De Linguarum Orientalium, praesertim Hebraicae, Chaldaica?, Syriacae, Arabicae & Samaritanicae, praestantia et usu, London, 1658. II. In- stitutionem Chronologicarum libri duo, una cum totidem arithmetices chronologicae libellis, London, 1669. III. Synodekon sive Pandectae Canonum S. S. apostolorum et conciliorum ab Ecclesia Graeca receptorum, &c. Oxonii, 2 vols, folio ', 1672. IV. Codex Canonum Ecclesiae Primi- tive vindicatus and illustratus, London, 1679. V. The A 4

S LIFE OF THE AUTHOR.

Church Catechism explained for the Use of the Diocese of St. Asaph, London, 1704, Mo." reprinted several times since in a small volume. Besides the above-mentioned works of this Prelate, we have the following published af- ter his death. VI. Private Thoughts upon Religion, di- gested into Twelve Articles, with Practical Resolutions formed thereupon ; written in his younger years (when he was but twenty- three years old) for the settling of his principles and conduct of life, London, 1709- VII. Pri- vate Thoughts upon a Christian Life ; or Necessary Di- rections for its Beginning and Progress upon Earth, in or- der to its Final Perfection in the Beatific Vision, London 1709. VIII. The Great Necessity and Advantage of Pub- lic Prayer and Frequent Communion. Designed to re- vive Primitive Piety ; with Meditations, Ejaculations ; and Prayers, before, at, and after the Sacrament, Lon- don, 1710. These have been reprinted several times in 4fo. and 12mo. IX. One Hundred and Fifty Sermons and Discourses on Several Subjects, London, 1708, &c. in 12 vols. 8vo. Reprinted at London, 1 7 1 9, in 2 vols. foL X. Thesaurus Tkeologiczts ; or, a Complete System of Di- vinity, summed up in Brief Notes upon Select Parts of the Old and New Testaments ; wherein the Sacred Text is reduced under Proper Heads, Explained and Illustrat- ed with the Opinions and Authorities of the Ancient Fa- thers, Councils, &c. London, 1711, 4 vols. 8vo. XL A Defence of the Book of Psalms, Collected into English Metre, by Thomas Stemhold, John Hopkins, and others, with Critical Observations on the New Version compared with the Old, London, 17 10, 8vo. In this book he gives the Old Version the preference to the New. XII. Exposition of the Thirty-Nine Articles, London, 1710, 1716, foL

PREFACE.

AFTER so great a name as that of Bishop Beveridge in the title, it was as superfluous to attempt any farther recommendation of these papers, as it would be impossible to effect it. If any thing can add to the esteem they must every where meet with, upon the account of so great an author, it must be a serious perusal and application of them.

Those that read them with the same spirit of candour, with which this great man always read the works of others, and with the same spirit of piety, with which he wrote his own ; will undoubtedly discover in them such a lively idea of the great genius of the author, and so sensibly ex- perience the good influence of them upon their minds, as will more effectually engage their approbation, than the highest encomiums from another hand.

The great misfortune is, that those who have most need to be instructed and reformed, have no true taste or relish for books of this nature : their eyes are dazzled with the glittering appearances of the objects of sense, and their hearts enslaved to the works of darkness ; so that the beams of divine light are but troublesome and offensive to them : every point of faith is a contradiction to their prin- ciples, and every precept enjoined a reproach to their mo- rals. And therefore, in order to stave off those self-con- demning thoughts, that naturally arise from the serious perusal of such sort of treatises ; they scoff at, and despise them, as dull and insipid ; not worth the consideration of men of more refined parts and deeper penetration, who are too wise to be guided by the rule of God's word, and too obstinate to be persuaded to walk, in any other path, but that which the devil has chalked out for them, the path which leads to destruction.

But these men would do well to consider, before they are wholly under the power of delusion, that this is not really owing to any flaws or defects in such performances, but to their own reprobate minds and depraved judgments, which tarnish the beauty, cast -a mist before the truth ^ frustrate their influence, and pervert the design of them j like a vitiated palate, which nauseates the most delicious tastes; or a foul or disordered stomach, that turns tie most wholesome food into poison and corruption. So ?'<• ' A 5

10

PREFACE.

they must first divest themselves of their lust and pride, their prejudice and partiality, before they can ever expect to reap any benefit or advantage by this, or any other dis- courses, that tend to the promoting of piety and religion.

Having thus opened the way to the reading of this book, it may not be improper, in order to set it in its true light, and do justice to the author of it, to say some- thing more particularly concerning both ; and to adver- tise the reader, that the following sheets were wrote by the bishop in his younger years, upon his first entrance into holy orders. And though they may not perhaps, be so perfect and correct, as if he himself had lived to give the finishing stroke to them, and fit them for the press with his own hand ; yet as the roughness of a jewel doth not lessen the worth and value of it, when the brightness of its natural lustre, even under that disadvantage, out- shines that of others, which are polished and refined by art; so it is to be hoped, the candid and judicious reader will, in this well designed piece, however unfinished, dis- cover such singular beauties and graces, as few others, even at the highest pitch of their attainments, and with the utmost care and diligence, are able to come up to.

As to the author's design in writing these papers, it is sufficiently set forth in the title of them. He considered, that truth of doctrine, and innocency of life, were both absolutely necessary to the due exercise of the sacred func- tion which he had the honour and happiness to be ad- mitted into. He knew the power of example to prevail even beyond that of precept, and was very solicitous, with the blessed apostle, to make his own calling and election sure, lest that by any means, when he had \weached to others, he himself should be a cast-away. To the end, therefore, that he might both save himself, and them that heard him, that both by his life and doctrine he might set forth the glory of God, and set forward the salvation of men. He drew up these articles, to settle his principles in point of faith, and formed these resolutions upon them, to regu- late his actions with regard to practice.

What great things might not the church promise herself from a foundation so well laid ! from principles settled with so much learning and judgment, and resolutions formed upon such strict rules of piety and religion ? What glorious expectations in an age of that degeneracy of faith and manners, wherein he then lived, might not be justly jaised from hence, for the future reformation of both?

PREFACE. 11

And, indeed, tins excellent person did even more than satisfy all these extraordinary hopes which the early and ample specimens he gave of his virtue and knowledge had made the world conceive of him. For having taken this prudent and effectual care to ground and determine his own faith and practice ; and being ever mindful of the in- j unction laid upon him, when he was ordained priest, " To consider the end of his ministry towards the children " of God, towards the spouse and body of Christ ; he ne- " ver ceased his labour, care and diligence, until he had " done all that in him lay (as our holy church does most " admirably express the duty of that order) to bring all " such as were committed to his charge unto that agree- " ment in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that " ripeness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there should " be no place left among them for error in religion, or for " viciousness in life."

While his care of souls was chiefly confined to the bounds of a single parish, with what labour and zeal did he apply himself to the discharge of his ministry, in the several parts and offices of it ! how powerful and instruc- tive was he in his discourses from the pulpit ! how warm and affectionate in his private exhortations ! how orthodox in his doctrine ! how regular and uniform in the public worship of the church ! in a word, so zealous was he, and heavenly-minded, in all the spiritual exercises of his pa~ rochial function, and his labours were so , remarkably crowned with blessing and success, that as he himself was justly styled the great reviver and restorer of primitive piety ; so his parish was deservedly proposed, as the best model and pattern for the rest of its neighbours to copj after.

Nor was the Archdeacon, or the Bishop, less vigilant than the Parish-priest : his care and diligence increased as his power in the church was enlarged ; and as he had before discharged the duty of a faithful pastor over his sin- gle fold, so when his authority was extended to larger dis» tricts, he still pursued the same pious and laborious me* thods of advancing the honour and interest of religion, by watching over both clergy and laity, and giving them all" necessary direction and assistance for the effectual per* formance of their respective duties.

Accordingly, he was no sooner advanced to the episco« pal chair, but, in a most pathetic and obliging letter to the clergy of his diocese, he recommended to them, ft tb •, A 6

12 PREFACE.

" duty of catechising and instructing the people commit- " ted to their charge in the principles of the Christian re- " ligion, to the end that they might know what they " were to believe, and do, in order to salvation ;" and told them, " He thought necessary to begin with that, " without which whatever else he, or they, should do, " would turn to little or no account, as to the main end of ■" the ministry/' And to enable them to do this, the more effectually, he sent them a plain and easy exposition upon the church catechism ; of which I need say nothing more, and can say nothing greater, than that it was drawn up by himself; in a method, which, in the opinion of so great a judge, seemed, of all others, the most proper to instruct the people.

Thus endeavouring to make himself and others every day wiser and better, labouring to establish sound prin- ciples, and settle good manners wherever he came, as it was the foundation which this holy man laid in these arti- cles and resolutions ; so we see it was the great work of his life to build upon it ; as might easily be made appear, from a faithful and particular relation of the several stages and passages of it during the course of his ministry ; the bare enumeration of which would swell this preface into a book. That fair portrait will, I hope, be drawn down by some abler pen.

In the mean time, there is yet another instance of his great concern and unwearied endeavours for the establish- ing of sound doctrine, which I must not omit the men- tioning of, because it is a work of so much affinity with these articles, and what the reader may, with great ad- vantage, have recourse to for farther satisfaction upon these general heads of divinity, which he has here given us only in abridgment; it is his learned Exposition upon the Thirty-nine Articles ; which is promised, in a short time, to be committed to the press ; and which is the more earn- estly desired and expected, as being a performance, which the church, at this time, so much wants, and which he, beyond others, was in such an extraordinary manner, qua- lified for.

Such discourses as these, the one giving a true exposi- tion of the doctrine of our church, the other endeavour- ing to establish it by an orthodox faith, and an unspotted life, were never more seasonable than in this age ; when the very being of the church is called in question, under a pretence of maintaining her rights; and the principles of

PREFACE. IS

Christianity are no longer secretly undermined, but open- ly attacked ; when books are published against all reveal- ed religion, and Deism insults and triumphs bare-faced, without restraint, without reproach. In a word, when we are arrived to that dissoluteness of manners, as well as principles, that persons of the highest quality and station are addressed to in print, as patrons of Libertinism ; and that which has, in all ages, been called, and esteemed, the greatest wisdom, is scoffed at by false wit ; and Christiani- ty, under the notion of enthusiasm, exposed to the con- tempt of the meanest capacities, and hooted out of the world by the very dregs of the people.

In so general an inundation of profaneness, and licen- tiousness, Providence seemed indeed to have raised up this great and good man to stand in the gap, and stem the tide against it : but where the torrent is so impetuous, and the forces, that should unite in striving to divert it, so weak and pusillanimous, there is more danger the very opposers should be borne down the stream, than there are hopes of making good the opposition. But, however, the doctrine and discipline of our church may be represented, exploded and despised, and our holy religion become only a name, which is almost every where spoken against ; this good Bishop will nevertheless have the honour as he alrea- dy enjoys the reward, not only of bearing testimony against the growing ill, but of having done all that he could (and who could do more than he !) to restrain and subdue it.

It may, perhaps, be thought a bad omen to our church to have lost so able a champion, Avhen she seems to stand so much in need of him. But blessed be God, we have not altogether lost him : he has left us behind him, in these excellent papers, (to say nothing of his sermons, and other incomparable writings) such clear reasoning and con- vincing arguments for the grounding of our principles ; and such useful rules and directions for the government of our conversation, that we may yet hope for a happy re- formation in both, if we are not wanting to ourselves in the use and application of them.

Would the clergy, the younger sort especially, take this method, upon their first admission into holy orders, (and it ought to be no hard matter to persuade them to it, since it is the very end and design of their ministry) it could not fail, by the blessing of God, of producing very ad- mirable effects. Their principles, thus prudently settled,

14 PREFACE.

would stand the shock even of a fiery trial ; and their re- solutions, thus maturely formed, would undauntedly bear up against the most powerful temptation.

This, if any thing, would raise the dignity of the priest- hood to its first institution, silence all the loud clamours, as well as malicious whispers, that, like echoes, are re- doubled and reverberated upon them, and gain them such an interest and reputation among the people, and such an honour and authority in the discharge of their function, and from reverencing the person, and . commending the pattern, they would insensibly proceed to the imitation of it ; till, by degrees, the flock too, as well as the shep- herd, would became wise to salvation, would devoutly sanc- tify the Lord God in their hearts, and not only so, but be ready always to give an answer to every one that should ask them a reason of the hope that is in them.

And were both clergy and laity thus rightly principled, and firmly resolved ; the enemies of our Zion would have both less encouragement to attack, and less power to hurt us : our national church might then despise all the wicked attempts and designs that are daily made and formed against her, and assume to herself that comfortable pro- mise and assurance, that our Saviour himself has given, that even the gates of hell shall never prevail against her.

All that I have farther to say, is only to apologize for hav- ing said so much upon a subject that so little needs it ; and to close the whole with my hearty prayers to the throne of grace, that this pious and excellent book may meet with that desired effect and success, which the author aimed at in the composing of it, and may be as useful to others, as it was to himself.

CONTENTS.

PART FIRST.

Page THOUGHTS on Religion h

Article I. I believe there is one God, the Being of all beings 28

Art. II. I believe that whatsoever the most high God would have me to believe or do, in order to his glory, and my happiness, he hath revealed to me in his holy Scriptures 31

Art. III. I believe that as there is one God, so this one God is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 49

Art. IV. I believe, that I was conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity ; and that, ever since, 1 have been continually conceiving mischief, and bring- ing forth vanity 51

Art. V. I believe the Son of God became the Son of man, that I, the son of man, might become the Son of God 52

Art. VI. I believe, that Christ iived to God, and died for sin, that I might die to sin, and live with God 57

Art. VII. I believe that Christ rose from the grave, that I might rise from sin, and that he is ascended into heaven, that I might come unto him 59

Art. VIII. I believe that my person is only justifi- ed by the merit of Christ imputed to me ; and that my nature is only sanctified by the Spirit of Christ implanted in me .,,... Q\

Art. IX. I believe God entered into a double cove- nant with man, the covenant of works made with first, and the covenant of grace made in the second Adam 71

Art. X. I believe that as God entered into a cove- • nant of grace with us, so hath he signed his covenant to us by a double seal, baptism and the Lord's supper 77

Art. XI. I believe, that, after a short separation, my soul and body shall be united together again, in order to appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, and be finally sentenced according to my deserts ... 84

Art. XII. I believe there are two other worlds be- sides this I live in ; a world of misery for unrepent- ing sinners, and a world of glory for believing saints 91

l() CONTENTS.

RESOLUTIONS FORMED UPON THE FORE. GOING ARTICLES.

RESOLUTION I.

JAM resolved, by the grace of God, to walk by rule, and therefore think it necessary to resolve upon rules to walk by 97

Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to make the divine word the rule of all the rules I propose to myself 9&

Resol. III. I am resolved, that as I am not able to think or do any thing that is good without the influ- ence of the divine grace, so I will not pretend to me- rit any favour from God upon account of any thing I do for his glory and service 99

Concerning my Conversation in general.

Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to make Christ the pattern of my life here, that so Christ may be the portion of my soul hereafter 101

Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to walk by faith, and not by sight, on earth, that so I may live by sight, and not by faith, in heaven 102

Resol. III. I am resolved by the grace of God al- ways to be looking upon God, as always looking upon

me 103

Concerning my Thoughts.

Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to watch as much over the inward motions of my heart

aFthe outward actions of my life 105

Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to stop every thought at its first entering into my heart, and to examine it, whence it comes, and whither it

tends 106

Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be as fearful to let in vain, as careful to keep out sin- ful thoughts .-.. 107

Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be always exercising my thoughts upon good objects,

that the devil may not exercise them upon bad 1 08

Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, so to marshal may thoughts, that they may not one justle out another, nor any of them prejudice the business Iamabout ••• HO

CONTENTS. 17

Concerning my Affections.

Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, al- ways to make my affections subservient to the dictates of my understanding, that my reason may not follow,

but guide my affections ••• H2

■ Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to love God as the best of goods, and to hate sin, as the worst of evils s • • 1*4

Rend. III. I am resolved, by the assistance of di- vine grace, to make God the principal object of my joy, and sin the principal object of my grief and sor- row ; so as to grieve for sin more than suffering, and for suffering only for sin's sake * Ho

Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to desire spiritual mercies more than temporal ; and tem- poral mercies only in reference to spiritual US

Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to hope for nothing so much as the promises, and to fear nothing so much as the threatenings of God 119

Resol. VI. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to arm myself with that spiritual courage and magnani- mity, as to press through all duties and difficulties whatsoever, for the advancement of God's glory, and my own happiness 121

Resol. VII. I am resolved, by the grace of God, so to be angry, as not to sin, and therefore to be angry at nothing but sin 123

Concerning my Words.

Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, never to speak much, lest I often speak too much, and not to speak at all, rather than to no purpose 125

Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, not only to avoid the wickedness of swearing falsely, but likewise the very appearance of swearing at all 127

Resol. 111. I am resolved, by the grace of God, al- ways to make my tongue and heart to go together, so as never to speak with the one what I do not think in the other 128

Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the divine grace, to speak of other men's sins only before their faces, and of their virtues only behind their backs ISO

Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, al- ways to speak reverently to my superiors, humbly to my inferiors, and civilly to all •••• 131

18 CONTENTS.

Concerning my Actions.

Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do every thing in obedience to the will of God 1 33

Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do every thing with prudence and discretion, as well as with zeal and affection 135

Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, never to set my hand, my head, or my heart, about any thing but what I verily believe is good in itself, and will be esteemed so by God 136

Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do all things for the glory of God. 138

Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to mingle such recreations with my business, as to far- ther my business by my recreations ., 139

Concerning my Relations.

Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to ho- nour and obey the king or prince, whom Gt)d is pleas- ed to set over me, as well as to expect he should safe- guard and protect me, whom God is pleased to set under him .-. 141

Resol. II. I am resolved, by the same divine grace, to be as constant in loving my wife, as cautious in choosing her 14>8

Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do my endeavour to give to God whatsoever children he shall be pleased to give to me, that as they are mine by nature they may be his by grace 146

Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do my duty to my servants, as well as expect they do theirstome 148

Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to feed the flock that God shall set me over with whole- some food, neither starving them by idleness, poison- ing them with error, nor puffing them up with imper- tinencies 1-50

Resol. VI. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be as faithful and constant to my friend, as I would have my friend to be faithful and constant to me 152

Concerning my Talents. Resol. I. I am resolved, if possible, to redeem my time past, by using a double diligence for the future, to employ and improve all the endowments both of body and mind, to the glory and service of my great Creator 155

CONTENTS. 19

Resol. II. I am resolved, by the divine grace, to employ my riches, uTe outward blessings of provi- dence, to the ?ame end ; and to observe a due medium in the dispensing of them, as to avoid prodigality on the one hand and covetousness on the other 156

Re sol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve the authority God gives me over others, to the suppression of vice, and the encouragement of virtue ; and so for the exaltation of God's name on earth, an d their souls in heaven 155

Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the divine grace, to improve the affections God stirs up in others towards me, to the stirring up their affections towards God... 160

Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve every good thought to the producing of good affections in myself, and as good actions with respect to God Ita

Resol, VI. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve every affliction God lays upon me, as an earn- est or token of his affection towards me * 1 63

PART SECOND.

On the Education of a Ckristia?i.

THE advantage of being well grounded in the Chris- tian religion • » » ♦ * * * 7 1

The want of this is the occasion of so little true religion

among us 172

The direction of the church in this behalf, and of God

himself 172

The obligation on parents to observe it 173

The church catechism most easy, and yet most full

and comprehensive • 174

The necessity of being made Christians by baptism ... 175

And that for children as well as for adult persons 176'

The promise made at baptism implies the necessity of

Christian instruction 177

The several parts of that promise lead to the know- ledge of all the rest of the catechism, viz. of the creed, ten commandments, Lord's prayer, and doc-

trine of 'the sacraments • ••• 177

Directions for instructing children in this catechism 178

They must begin with them betimes .. 178

Employ others to teach them, if they cannot do it themselves 170

20 CONTENTS.

When taught the catechism, send them for further in- struction to the minister 180

The great obligation upon parents to instruct their children ;... 181

Abraham's care in this respect rewarded, and Eli's neg- lect punished 182

The advantage of it to themselves, and to their children 183

An exhortation to it 184

On the knowledge of God.

Though all men agree about religion in general, yet they differ about nothing more than the particular

exercise of it 185

Our form of worship incomparably the best 186

To serve God aright, it is necessary to know that God

whom we are to serve '.. 187

To know what he is 187

And what he is, both in himself ; 187

Andtous .\ 18S

To know all his attributes; 188

All his works 188

To know that in the one Godhead there are three

persons 189

Our knowledge of God must also be practical and ex- perimental 190

That all this knowledge is necessary towards serving

God aright 190

The error of the church of Rome in this particular ... 191 Arguments to induce us to seek after this knowledge 192

How we ought to serve God 192

What it is to serve him 193

Mistakes about this 194>

We must serve him with all we are ; 1 95

And with all we have 195

Pay him sincere and universal obedience 1 96

We must serve him with a perfect heart and willing

mind f.. 197

For what reason we ought thus to serve God 198

An exhortation to it 200

On the Mystery of the Trinity. It is impossible to be truly religious without knowing

God 202

Which we cannottruly do but by the light of revelation: 203 Which alone discovers to us the mystery of the Trinity 203 Into which our Saviour commands all nations to be

baptized 203

CONTENTS. 21

Where we must consider the work he sends his apos-

* ties about 204

What is meant by teaching 204?

The mistake which occasioned the sect of Anabaptists 205 Our Saviour speaks not of teaching before baptism,

but after it 205

So that infant baptism is commanded in those very- worlds which are pretended to forbid it 205

The large extent of the commission here given 206

Not understood by the apostles themselves till inter- _

preted from heaven 207

The manner of admitting all nations intoChrist's church 207 The church always baptized in the name of the three

persons 207

The Trinity of persons proved from the scriptures of

the Old Testament 209

And especially of the New 210

The Godhead of each person ; 211

Particularly of the Son 211

(Who otherways could not be our Saviour) m 211

And of the Holy Ghost 212^

The order of the persons 214

Why the Father is the first 215

Why the Son the second 215

Why the Holy Ghost the third 216

His procession from the Son 217

Inferences from the whole 217

The conclusion 219

On Worldly Riches, Section I. Why Christians, notwithstanding the excellency of

their religion, lead as bad lives as other men 221

This cannot be owing to any defect in the gospel ; ... 221 But proceeds from being too much concerned for the

things of this world 228

The love of money is the root of all evil 223

Where, by money the apostle means the things of this

world 223

In what the love of these consists 224-

How the love of money is the root of all evil 22£

Of all the evils of which we are guilty, viz. of sins of

omission, 226

And commission ; 228

Of all the evil which we suffer in this life, 230

And fear in the next 230

Directions for taking off our affections from the things of this world 232

CONTENTS.

On Worldly Riches, Section II.

Timothy first bishop of the province of Ephesus 234

He and all ministers enjoined to preach with authority 235

To charge not only the poor but the rich 238

Whom the apostle means by them that are rich 238

Why they are charged not to be high-minded '239

Why not to trust in uncertain riches 240

What good they are enjoined to do 241

Works of piety towards God 241

Works of charity towards the poor 243

And to be rich in good works ; 243

Which are our principal riches 244

Ready to distribute 245

Willing to communicate 245

The reward promised to this duty '. 246

On Self-Denial

The introduction 248

Mistaken notions about Christianity 2 49

How to know what it is to be a true Christian 250

It is not so easy to be as some imagine 251

They that will be such, must deny themselves 251

Deny their reason in matters of divine revelation which

are above it 252

Their wills in submission to God's 253

And their affections 254

And the enjoyment of their estates, when they come

in competition with their duty 255

They must deny themselves in those sins, and lusts

they are used to indulge 255

And must renounce their own righteousness ; 256

Which will not justify, but rather condemn 257

Why we must thus deny ourselves 258

We must also take up the cross ; 260

Which they only do, who- suffer for conscience 261

The reasonableness of this duty 262

An exhortation to it - 263

On Striving to enter in at the Strait Gate.

All must expect ere long to be in another world 264

Either of endless happiness, 264

Or of endless misery %65

Our Saviour's direction in this case - 266

That to happiness narrow and difficult 266

It implies the forsaking of all sin 267

The performance of many hard duties 267

CONTENTS. 23

Yet it is worth striving to obtain it 269

For, though hard, yet it is possible, 273

We are invited to it by God himself ; 274

Who affords us all necessary means to obtain it 274?

The difficulties will soon be over 275

Heaven will make amends for all 276

In order hereto we must first resolve, 276

And then set upon a new life, 278

Depending entirely upon the merits of Christ ; 278

Praying for the assistance of his grace ; 278

And w aiting his answer to our prayers 279

On the Imitation of Christ.

Christ came into the world to save sinners 279

Paying, by his death, the debts we owe to God ; 280

Giving us a pattern of holiness in his life, 281

More perfect than any before or since, 281

Which we are bound to follow 2S2

But we must not presume to follow Christ in what he

didasGod, 282

Nor in what he did as God-man 283

But only in what he did as mere man 284

Both in his behaviour towards men ; 284

In his duty to his parents, 284

And to his governors 285

In his meekness towards all men 286

In his bounty and goodness to all, even to his enemies 286

And in his piety towards God, ^ 287

Increasing in wisdom as in stature 288

Though, as man, his knowledge wras finite, yet that

implies no imperfection or sin 288

Such ignorance is no sin 289

But only the ignorance of what we ought to know ... 289 At least we should thus increase in godly wisdom when

grown up 289

Teach our children after Christ's example 289

WTio as he grew in godly wisdom when a child, also used that wisdom when grown, and devoted him- self wholly to the service of God 289

His resignation to God's will, love of him, zeal for

him, trust in him, were also most exemplary 291

So were also his external acts of devotion, frequently

retiring to pray 291

The meaning of proseuche .... 291

Frequenting the synagogue on the sabbath 292

An exhortation to follow Christ 292

24 CONTENTS.

On our Call and Election.

Many are called but few chosen, a hard saying. , 295

The Jews rejecting Christ's invitation, the Gentiles

are called _ 097

What is meant by being called 297

We are called from darkness to light 298

From superstition and idolatry to the true worship ... 298

From sin unto holiness 298

From temporal things to eternal 299

From misery to happiness 300

God hath called some by immediate revelations 300

He calls all by his works and providences 301

But our Saviour means his call by the ministry of his

word .. 301

That many have been, and are thus called, 302

But few chosen 304

Not absolutely, but com paratively few 304

Only such as do God's will 306

No atheistical persons 307

None that are ignorant of the principles of religion... SOS

On the Appearance of Christ the Sun of Righteousness.

Why the scripture represents spiritual things by sen- sual objects ; 321

As, Christ's coming ; by the rising of the Sun of Righ- teousness 322

To burn up the wicked 322

But with healing in his wings, to such as Tear God,

that is, to all true believers 323

This Sun is the object only of our faith 324

He gave some light before his rising 324

Christ is often foretold under this emblem 325

Is properly styled the Sun with respect both to what

he is in himself 325

And to what he is to us, the fountain of our light and

of our life. 325

(Who by nature are dead in sins) : 327

And of all our joy and comfort 329

Of our fruitfulness in good works ; 330

Which receive all their lustre from the reflection of his righteousness, as colours owe their being to the re- flection of the sun 331

The Sun of righteousness thus displayed, 332

By a lively faith SSS

Would have a great influence on the holiness and hap- ness of our lives 334

THOUGHTS

ON

RELIGION

Vi^IIEX, in my serious thoughts, and more retired me- ^ dilations, I am got into the closet of my heart, and there begin to look within myself, and consider what I am, I presently find myself to be a reasonable creature : for was I not .so, it would be impossible for me thus to reason and reflect. But, am I a reasonable creature ? Why then, I am sure, within this veil of flesh there dwells a soul, and that of a higher nature, than either plants or brutes are endued with ; for they have souls indeed, but yet they know it not, and that because their souls, or ma- terial forms, as the philosophers term them, are not any thing really and essentially distinct from the very matter of their bodies • which being not capable of a reflective act, though they. arc, they know it not, and though they act, they know it not ; it being impossible for them to look within themselves, or to reflect upon their own existence or actions. But it is not so with me ; I not only know I have a soul, but that I have such a soul, which can con- sider of itself, and deliberate of every particular action that issues from it. Nay, 1 can consider, that I am now con- sidering of my own actions, and can reflect upon myself, reflecting; insomuch, that had I nothing else to do, I could spin out one reflection upon another, to infinity.

And, indeed, was there never another argument in the world to convince me of the spiritual nature of my soul, this alone would be sufficient to wrest the belief and con- fession of it from me : for what below a spirit can thus reflect upon itself? or, what below a spirit can put forth itself into such actions, as I find I can exercise myself in ? My soul can, in a moment, mount from earth to heaven, fly from pole to pole, and view all the courses and motions of the celestial bodies, the sun, moon, and stars ; and then the next moment returning to myself again, I can censi-

B

%6 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

der where I have been, what glorious objects have been presented to my view ; and wonder at the nimbleness and activity of my soul, that can run over so many millions of miles, and finish so great a work in so small a space of time. And are such like acts as these, the effects of dros- sy earth, or impenetrable matter ? Can any thing below a spirit raise itself so much beyond the reach of material actions.

But stay a little ; what is this soul of mine that I am now speaking of, that it is so nimble in its actions, and so spiritual in its nature ? Why, it is that which actuates and informs the several organs and members of my body, and enables me not only to perform the natural actions of life and sense; but likewise to understand, consult, argue, and conclude ; to will and nill, hope and despair, desire and abhor, joy and grieve, love and hate ; to be angry now, and again appeased. It is that by which at this very time, my head is inditing, my hand is writing, and my heart resolving, what to believe, and how to practise. In a word, my soul is myself; and therefore when I speak of my soul, I speak of no other person but myself.

Not as if I totally excluded this earthly substance of my body from being a part of myself ; I know it is. But I think it most proper -and reasonable to denominate myself from my better part : for, alas ! take away my soul, and my body falls of course, into its primitive corruption, and moulders into the dust, from whence it was first taken. All flesh is grass, says the prophet, and all the goodliness there- of is as the flower ofthefleld. And this is no metaphorical expression, but a real truth ; for what is that which [ feed upon, but merely grass digested into corn, flesh, and the like ; which by a second digestion, is transfused and con- verted into the substance of my body ? And thence it is, that my body is but like the grass, or flower of the field, fading, transient, and momentary, to-day flourishing in all its glory, to-morrow cut doWn, dried up, and wither- ed. But now, how far is this beneath the spiritual and in- corruptible nature of my immortal soul? which subsists of itself, and can never be dissolved, being not compounded of an earthly or elementary matter, as the body is, but is a pure spiritual substance infused into me by God, to whom, after a short abode in the body, it is to return, and to live and continue for ever, either in a state of hap- piness, or misery, in another life.

But must it so indeed ? How much then does it concern

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 2?

me, seriously to bethink myself, where I had best to lead this everlasting life, in the heavenly mansions of eternal glory, or else in the dreadful dungeon of infernal misery ? but betwixt these, (as there is no medium, so) there is no comparison ; and therefore, I shall not put it to the ques- tion, which place to choose to live in ; but without giving the other that honour to stand in competition with it, I, this morning, with the leave of the most high God, do choose the land of Canaan, the kingdom of heaver, to be the lot of mine inheritance, the only seat of bliss and glory for my soul to rest and dwell in, to all eternity.

But heaven, they say, is a place hard to come at, yea. the king of that glorious place hath told me, that strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that lends to eternal life, and that there be but few that find it, Matt. vii. 14. Yea, and that many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able, Luke iii. 24. What therefore must I do ? Why, 1 must either resolve to make it my whole business to get to hea- ven, or else I must never hope or expect to come thither. Without any farther dispute, therefore, about it ; I re- solve, at this time, in the presence of almighty God, that from this day forward, I will make it my whole business here upon earth, to look after my happiness in heaven, and to walk circumspectly in those blessed paths, that God hath appointed all to walk in, that ever expect to come to him.

Now, though there be but one way, and that a narrow one too, that leads to heaven ; yet there are two things requisite, to all those that walk in it ; and they are faith and obedience, to believe and to live aright. So that it as much behoves me, to have my faith rightly confirmed in the fundamentals of religion, as to have my obedience exactly conformed to the laws of God. And these two duties are so inseparably united, that the former cannot well be suppos- ed without the latter ; for I cannot obey what God hath commanded me, unless I first believe what he hath taught me. And they are both equally difficult, as they are ne- cessary : indeed, of the two, I think it is harder to lay the sure foundation of faith, than to build the superstruc- ture of obedience upon it ; for it seems next to impossible, for one that believes every truth, not to obey every com- mand that is written in the word of God. But it is not so easy a thing as it is commonly thought to believe the word of God, and to be firmly established in the necessary points of religion ; especially in these wicked times where-- B 2

28 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

in we live ; in which there are so many pernicious errors and damnable heresies crept into the articles of some men's faith, as do not only shock the foundation of the church of Christ but strike at the root of all religion. The first thing, therefore, that by the grace of God, I am resolved to do, in reference to my everlasting estate, is to see my faith, that it be both rightly placed and firmly fixed ; that I may not be as a wave tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning craftiness qf those that lie in wait to deceive ; but that I may be thoroughly settled in my faith and judgment concerning those things, the knowledge of, and assent unto which, is absolutely necessary to my fu- ture happiness. Let, therefore, what times soever come upon me ; let what temptations soever be thrown before me; lam resolved, by the grace of God, steadfastly to believe as followeth.

ARTICLE I.

/ believe there is One God, the Being qf all beings.

HP HE other articles of my faith I think to be true, be- -*- cause they are so ; this is true because I think it so : for if there was no God, and so this article not true, I could not be, and so not think it true. But in that I think, I am sure I am ; and in that I am, I am sure there is a God ; for if there was no God, how came I to be ? How came I hither ? Who gave me my being ? Myself? That could not be ; for before I had a being, I was nothing ; and therefore, could do nothing, much less make myself a being. Did my parents give me my being ? Alas i they knew not that I should be, before I was ; and, therefore, certainly, could not give me my being, when I was not.

As to my soul, (which I call myself) it is plain, they could not give me that, because it is a being of a spiritual nature, quite distinct from matter, (as my own experience tells me) and, therefore, could not be the product of any natural or material agent : for, that a bodily substance should give being to a spiritual one, implies a contradic- tion. And if it could neither make itself, nor take its rise from any earthly or secondary cause, I may certainly con- clude, from my own reason, as well as from divine revela- tion, that it must be infused by God, though I am not able to determine, either when, or how, it was done. As to my body ; indeed, I must own it was derived

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 29

from my parents, who were immediately concerned in bring- ing the materials of it together : but, then, who made up these coarse materials into the form or figure of a body ? Was this the effect of natural generation ? But how came my parents by this generative power ? Did they derive it, by succession, from our first parents in paradise ? Be it so. But whence came they ? Did they spring out of the earth ? No, what then ? Were they made by chance ? This could not be • for as chance seldom or never produces any one effect that is regular and uniform, so it cannot be suppos- ed, that a being of such admirable beauty, symmetry, and proportion, and such a nice contexture of parts, as the body of a man is, should ever be jumbled together by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, which nothing but the chi- meras of Epicures could ever reduce into a regular form and composition.

And the like may be said of all other created beings in the world. For there is no natural cause can give being to any thing, unless it has that being it gives, in itself; for it is a received maxim in philosophy, that nothing can give what it has not. And so, however the bodies of men, or brutes, or plants, may now, in the ordinary course of na- ture, be produced by generation, yet there must needs be some one supreme almighty Being in the world, that has the being of all other beings in itself; who first created these several species ; and endued them with this genera- tive power to propagate their kind. And this supreme Being is that which we call God.

Hence it is, that there is not a leaf, no not a line, in this great book of the creation, wherein we may not clear- ly read the existence and perfections of the great and glo- rious Creator, and that even by the glimmering light of nature. For who is it that bedecked yonder stately cano- py of heaven, with those glittering spangles the stars ? Who is it that commands the sun to run his course and the moon to ride her circuit so constantly about the world ? Who is it that formed me so curiously in my mother's womb ? Who is it, that gives my stomach power to digest such variety of meats into chyle, and my heart or liver to turn them all to blood : and thence to send each particle to its proper place, and all to keep up this crazy carcase ? Doubtless, these, and such like things, however ordinary or natural they may appear to us at present, are in them- selves very great and wonderful effects, that must, at first, be produced by some infinitely powerful and supernatural B 3

zo

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

agent, the high and mighty God, who is not only the chiefest of beings, but the Being of all beings whatsoever.

I say, the Being- of all beings, because whatsoever ex- cellency or perfection is in any other thing, is eminently, yea, infinitely comprehended in him ; so that he is not only the creature's perfection in the concrete, but in the abstract too ; he is not only all-wise, all-good, all-mighty, &c. but he is all-wisdom, all-goodness, all-might, all-mer- cy, all-justice, all-glory, &c. And as he is the ocean and abyss of all these perfections in himself; so is he the foun- tain of them all to us. Insomuch that we have nothing, not so much as the least moment of life, but what is com- municated to us from this everliving God. And not only what we, poor sinful worms are, or have, but even what- soever those nobler creatures the angels have, it is but a •beam darted from this sun, it is but a stream flowing from, this overflowing fountain.

Lift up thine eyes therefore, O my soul, and fix them a little upon this glorious object ! How glorious, how tran- scendently glorious, must he needs be, who is the Being of all beings, the perfection of all perfections, the very glory of all glories, the eternal God ! He is the glory of love and goodness, who is good, and doth good continu- ally unto me, though I be evil, and do evil continually against him. He is the glory of wisdom and knowledge, unto whom all the secret thoughts, the inward motions and retirements of my soul, are exactly known and mani- fest. Never did a thought lurk so secretly in my heart, but that his all-seeing eye could espy it out : even at this time, he knows what I am now thinking of, and what I am doing, as well as myself. And indeed, well may he know what I think, and speak, and do, when I can nei- ther think nor speak, nor do any thing, unless himself be pleased to give me strength to do it. He is the glory of might and power, who did but speak the word, and there presently went out that commanding power from him, by which this stately fabric of the world was formed and fa- shioned. And as he created all things by the word of his power, so I believe, he preserves and governs all things by the power of the same word : yea, so great is his pow- er and sovereignty, that he can as easily throw my soul from my body into hell, or nothing, as I can throw this book out of my hand to the ground : nay, he need not throw me into nothing ; but, as if I should let go my hold, the book would presently fall ; so should God but take

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 31

away his supporting hand from under me, I should, of myself, immediately fall down to nothing. This, there- fore, is that God, whom I believe to be the Being of all beings ; and so the Creator, preserver, governor, and dis- poser of all things in the world.

ARTICLE II.

J believe, that whatsoever the most high God would have mt to believe or do, in order to his glory, and my happi- ness, he hath revealed to me in his holy scriptures.

UPON the same account that I believe there is a God, I believe, likewise, that this God is to be worshipped ; the same light that discovers the one, discovering the other too. And therefore it is, that as there is no nation or peo- ple in the world, but acknowledge some deity : so there is none, but worship that deity which they acknowledge ; yea, though it be but a stick or a stone, yet if they fancy any thing of divinity in it, they presently perform worship and homage to it. Nay, that God is to be worshipped, is a truth more generally acknowledged, than that there is a God. No nation, I confess, ever denied the latter, but no particular person ever denied the former : so that the very persons, who through diabolical delusions, and their own prevalent corruptions, have suspected the existence of a deity, could not but acknowledge that he was to be worshipped, if he did exist ; worship being that which is contained in the very notion of a deity ; which is, that he is the Being of all beings, upon whom all other things or beings do depend, and unto whom they are beholden both for their essence and subsistence. And if there be such a Being, that is the spring and fountain of all other L-ings, it is necessary that all others should reverence and worship him, without whom they could not subsist. And there- fore it is that men are generally more supers- titious in their worshipping than they ought to be, rather than deny that worship to him, which they ought to give.

That, therefore, there is a God, and that this God is to be woBshipped, I do not doubt, but the great question, is, who is this God whom I ought to worship ? And, what is that worship which I ought to perforin unto him ? The former I have resolved upon in the foregoing article, as the light of reason and my natural conscience suggested to me; the latter I am resolved to search out in this, viz. Which B 4

32 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

of all the several kinds of worship, that men perform to the deity, and the several religions that men profess in the world, I had best make choice of to profess and adhere to. The general inclinations which are naturally implanted in my soul to some religion, it is impossible for me to shift off : but there being such a multiplicity of religions in the world, I desire now seriously to consider with myself, which of them all to restrain these my general inclinations to.

And the reason of this my inquiry is not, that I am in the least dissatisfied with that religion I have already em- braced ; but because it is natural for all men to have an overbearing opinion and esteem for that particular religion they are born and bred up in. That, therefore, I may not seem biassed by the prejudice of education, I am re- solved to prove and examine them all, that I may see and hold fast to that which is best. For though I do not, in the least, question, but that I shall upon inquiry, find the christian religion to be the only true religion in the world, yet I cannot say it is, unless I find it, upon good grounds, to be so indeed : for, to profess myself a christian, and be- lieve that christians are only in the right, because my fore- fathers were so, is no more than the heathens and Maho- metans have to say for themselves.

Indeed, there was never any religion so barbarous and diabolical, but it was preferred before all other religions whatsoever, by them that did profess it : otherwise they would not have professed it. The Indians, that worship the devil, would think it as strange doctrine to say that Christ is to be feared more than the devil ; as such as be- lieve in Christ, think it is, to say the devil is to be pre- ferred before Christ. So do the Mahometans call all that believe not in Mahomet, as well as christians call those that believe not in Christ, infidels. And why, say they, may not you be mistaken, as well as we? Especially, when there is at least, six to one against your christian re- ligion ; all of which think they serve God aright, arid ex- pect happiness thereby as well as you. So that to be a christian, only upon the grounds of birth or education, is all one, as if I was a Turk or a heathen ; for if I had been born amongst them, I should have had the same reason for their religion, as now I have for my own : the pre- mises are the same, though the conclusion be ever so dif- rerent. It is still upon the same grounds, that I profess feligion, though it be another religion which I profess

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 33

upon these grounds ; so that I can see but very little dif- ference, betwixt being a Turk by profession, and a chris- tian only by education ; which commonly is the means and occasion, but ought by no means to be the ground of any religion. And hence it is that in my looking out for the truest religion, being conscious to myself how great an as- cendant Christianity hath over me, beyond the rest, as be- ing that religion whereinto I was born and baptized, that which the supreme authority has enjoined and my parents educated me in, that which every one I meet withal high- ly approves of, that which I myself have, by a long con- tinued profession, made almost natural to me; I am re- solved to be more jealous and suspicious of this religion, than of the rest, and be sure not to entertain it any longer without being convinced, by solid and substantial argu- ments, of the truth and certainty of it.

That, therefore, I may make diligent and impartial in- quiry into all religions, and so be sure to find out the best, I shall for a time, look upon myself as one not at all inte- rested in any particular religion whatsoever, much less in the christian religion ; but only as one who desires, in ge- neral, to serve and obey him that made me, in a right manner, and thereby to be made partaker of that happi- ness my nature is capable of. In order to this, it will be necessary to propose to myself some certain marks or cha- racters, whereby I may be able to judge and make choice of the religion I intend to embrace : and they are, in ge- neral, these two, viz.

First, That is the best religion, wherein God is wor- shipped and served most like himself, i. e. most suitably and conformably to his nature and will. And,

Secondly, Since all men naturally desire, and aspire af- ter happiness, and our greatest happiness consists in the fruition of God, that is certainly the best religion, which gives me the best and most comfortable assurances of be-* ing happy with God to all eternity.

To embrace a religion without these marks,, would be worse than to have no religion at all ; for better it is to perform no worship to God, tlmn such as is displeasing to him ; to do him no service, than such as will be ineffec- tual to make me happy, and not only frustrate my expec- tations of bliss, but make me for ever miserable.

The religion, then, that I am to look after, must be such a one, wherein I may be sure to please God, and to be made happy with him ; and, by consequence, such a B 5

34 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

one, wherein all the cause of his displeasure and my mise- ry may be removed ; and that is sin. For sin being infi- nitely opposite to him, as he is a Being of infinite purity and holiness, must certainly set me at the greatest distance from him, and render me most odious in his sight ; and whosoever does so, must make me as miserable, as mise- ry can make me. For as our holiness consisteth in like- ness, so doth our happiness in nearness to God : and if it be our happiness to be near unto him, it must certainly be our misery to be at a distance from him. In enjoying him we enjoy all things, he being and having all things in himself ; and so in not enjoying him, we are not only de- prived of all that we can enjoy, but made liable to the pu- nishments that are the consequence of it.

That there is no such thing in nature, as virtue and vice, as good and evil, as grace and sin, is what I can by no means persuade myself to, for my conscience tells me, that there is : and not only mine, but every one that ever yet lived upon the face of the earth ; all people of whatsoever nation or language, still acknowledging sin, to be sin, and that the displeasing the deity, which they worship, is in- deed an evil that ought to be carefully avoided. And therefore, the very heathens did not only upbraid others with it, but likewise often checked themselves for it ; and all men naturally desire to seem though not to be holy. But let others say what they will, I, for my own part, cannot but see sin in myself, by the very light of nature. For, my reason tells me, that if God be God, he must be just and perfect ; and if I be not so too, I am not like him; and, therefore, must needs displease him ; it being impos- sible any thing should please him but what is like unto him. And this deformity to the will and nature of God is that which we call sin, or which the word sin in its proper notion, brings into my mind.

And being thus conscious to myself, that I have sinned against my Maker, I may reasonably conclude, that as he is omniscient, and, by consequence, a witness of these my offences, so must he iikewise be just in the punishment of them ; for it cannot stand with his justice, to put up with such offences, without laying suitable punishments upon the offender. And these punishments must be infinite and eternal ; for wherein doth the nature of divine justice consist, but in giving to sin its just punishments as well as to virtue its due rewards ? Now that the punishment of sin in this world, is not so much as it deserves, nor, by conse- quence, as much as, injustice, ought to be laid upon it, to

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 35

me it is clear, in that every sin being committed against an infinite God, deserves infinite punishment ; whereas all the punishments we suffer in this world cannot be any more than finite, the world itself being no more than finite, that we suffer them in.

Upon these grounds, therefore it is, that I am fully sa- tisfied in my conscience, that I am a sinner; that it cannot stand with the justice, nor the existence of God that made me, to pardon my sins, without satisfaction made to his divine justice for them ; and yet, that unless they be pardoned, it is impossible for me to be happy here, or hereafter. And therefore must I look after some reli- gion, wherein I may be sure, my sins may be thus par- doned, and my soul made happy, wherein I may please God and God may bless me. Which, that I may be the better able to discover, I shall take a brief survey of all the religions 1 ever heard of, or believe to be in the world.

Now, though there be as many kinds of religions as na- tions ; yea, almost as particular persons in the world ; yet may they all be reduced to these four ; the Paganish, Ma- hometan, Jewish, and Christian religion.

As to the first, it is indeed of a very large extent, and comprehends under it all such as neither acknowledge Mahomet to be a prophet, nor expect a promised Messiah, nor believe in a crucified Jesus : and, since it is the majo- rity of numbers, that usually carries the vogue, let me see whether the paganish religion, being farther extended, and more generally professed than any, or indeed all the rest, be not the true religion, wherein God is most rightly wor- shipped, and I may be the most certainly saved. And here, when I take a view of this religion, as it is dispersed through several parts of Asia, Africa, and America, I find them very devout in worshipping their deities, such as they are, and they have great numbers of them : some worship the sun, others the moon and stars, others the earth, and other elements, serpents, trees, and the like. And others again pay homage and adoration to images and statues, in the fashion of men and women, hogs, horses, and other shapes ; and some to the devil himself, as in Pegu, &e.

But now, to go no farther, this seems to me, at first sight to be a very strange and absurd sort of religion ; or rather, it is quite the reverse of it. For the true notion we have of religion, is the worshipping the true God, in a true manner ; and this is the worshipping false gods in a false manner. For, I cannot entertain any other notion of B 6

86 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

God, than as one supreme almighty Being, who made and governs all things, and who, as he is a spirit ought to be worshipped in a spiritual manner. And therefore, as the very supposing more deities than one implies a contra- diction ; so the paying divine homage, in a gross, carnal manner, to material and corporeal beings, which are ei- ther the work of men's hands, or at best, but creatures like ourselves, which can neither hear nor understand what we say to them, much less give us what we desire of them, is not religion, but idolatry and superstition, or rather mad- ness and delusion. So that this religion, I see, if I should embrace it, would be so far from making me happy, that the more zealous I should be for it, the more miserable I should be by it. For he that made these things cannot but be very angry at me, if I should give that worship to them, which is only due to himself; and so, the way whereby I expect my sins should be pardoned, they would be more increased ; it being a sin against the very light of nature, to prefer any thing before God, or to worship any thing in his stead ; therefore, leaving these to their super- stitious idolatries, and diabolical delusions, I must go and seek for the true religion somewhere else.

The next religion, that hath the most suffrages and votes on its side, is the Mahometan religion, so called from one Mahomet an Arabian, who, about a thousand years ago, by the assistance of one Sergius, a Nestorian monk, com- piled a book in the Arabian tongue, which he called Alco- ran, which he made the rule of his followers' faith and manners, pretending that it was sent from heaven to him, by the hand of the angel Gabriel.

* This book I have perused, and must confess, find many things in it agreeable to right reason : as that there is but one God, gracious and merciful, the Lord of the whole universe ; that this God we are to resign ourselves wholly to ; that all that obey him shall be certainly rewarded, and all that disobey him, as certainly punished ; and the like. But yet, I . dare not venture my soul upon it, nor become one of the professors of it; because, as there are many things consonant, so there are many things dissonant to the natural light that is implanted in me ; as, that God should swear by figs and olives, by mount Sinai, as this book makes him to do, in the chapter of the figs : that So- lomon should have an army composed of men, and devils, and birds ; and that he should discourse with a bird, which acquainted him with the affairs of the queen of Sheba, and the like.

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 37

As to the argument whereby he would persuade us, that this book was" sent from God, viz. that there are no con- tradictions in it, I take to be very false and frivolous. For besides that there are many books compiled by men, which have no contradictions in them, it is certain, there are a great many plain contradictions in this book, which over- throw his suppositions. Thus, in the chapter of the table, he saith, that " all that believe in God, and the resurrec- tion of the dead, and have done good works, shall be sav- ed :" but, Hi the chapter of gratification, he saith, " all that do not believe in the Alcoran shall be destroyed :" and so in the chapter of Hod. In like manner, he tells us again, in the chapter of the table, that the books of the Old and New Testaments were sent from God, and at the same time, supposes that the Alcoran was sent from him too ; which to me, seems impossible. For, my reason tells me that God, who is truth and wisdom itself, can- not be guilty of falsehood and contradiction. And if these books contradict one another, as it is evident they do in many instances ■ it is plain, God could not be the author of both ; and by consequence, if the Scripture be true the Alcoran must of necessity be false. To instance but in one particular, the Alcoran says, m the chapter of wo- men, " God hath no son :" the scripture, in Matt. iii. 17- God said of Jesus, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; and Heb. iv. 14, it expressly calls that Jesus, the Son of God; and so in many other things. Now it is impossible, that both these should be true, or, by conse- quence, that that should be true which says both are so.

But if this were granted, there is still another objection against this religion ; and that is, that the rewards therein promised will not avail to make me happy, though I should be partaker of them. For all the promises made to us in this paradise, are but mere sensible pleasures ; as that we shall have all manner of herbs, and fruits, and drinks, and women with exceeding great and black eyes, as in the chapter of the merciful and judgment, and elsewhere; and such pleasures as these, though they may, indeed, af- fect my body, yet they cannot be the happiness of my soul. Indeed, I know not how this book should promise any higher happiness than that of the body, because it shews no means of attaining -to it ; it shows no way, how my sins may be pardoned, and so my soul made happy. It saith, I confess, that God is gracious and merciful, and therefore will pardon sin ; so he is also just and righteous,

38 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

and therefore must punish it. And how these two can stand together, is not manifested in the Alcoran; and therefore, I dare not trust my soul with it.

Thus, upon diligent search, have I found the two reli- gions, that are most generally professed, to have little or nothing of religion in them. I shall therefore in the next place, take a view of that religion which hath the fewest followers, and that is the Jewish. A religion, not esta- blished by any human laws, nor, indeed, generally pro- fessed in any nation, but only by a company of despicable people, scattered up and down the world, which as the pro- phet expresses it, are become a proverb of reproach, and a by-word among all nations whither they are driven. The principles of this religion are contained in a book written in the Hebrew tongue, which they call the Torah, or law composed of several precepts, promises, and threatenings ; together with histories of things past, and prophecies of things to come : this book, they say, was written by men inspired by God himself; and therefore they avouch it not to be of human invention, but merely of divine insti- tution.

This book also I have diligently read and examined into, and must ingenuously confess, that at the very first glance, methought I read divinity in it, and could not but con- clude, from the majesty of its style, the purity of its pre- cepts, the harmony of its parts, the certainty of its pro- mises, and the excellency of its rewards, that it could be derived from no other author but God himself. It is here only that I find my Maker worshipped under the proper no- tion of a deity as he is Jehovah, and that is the right man- ner, for we are here commanded to love and serve him with all our hearts, with all our souls, our might and mind, Deut. iv. 5. chap. x. 12. which is indeed, the perfection of all true worship whatsoever. And as God is here worship- ped aright, so is the, happiness which is here entailed upon this true worship, the highest that it is possible a creature should be made capable of, being nothing less than the enjoyment of him we worship, so as to have him to be a God to us, and ourselves to be a people to him, Jer. xxxi. 33.

But that which I look upon, still, as the surest charac- ter of the true religion, is, its holding forth the way, how I being a sinner, can be invested with this happiness, or Low God can shew his justice, in punishing sin itself, and yet be so merciful, as to pardon and remit it to me, and so receive me to his favour ; which the religions I viewed

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 3(J

before did not so much as pretend to, nor offer at all at. And this is what this book of the law does likewise disco- ver to me, by shewing that God almighty would not visit our sins upon ourselves but upon another person ; that he would appoint and ordain one to be our sponsor or Media- tor ; who by his infinite merit, should bear and atone for our iniquities, and to shew his love and mercy, in justify- ing and acquitting us from our sins, at the same time that he manifests his justice, in inflicting the punishment of them upon this person in our stead. A method so deep and mysterious ; that if God himself had not revealed it, I am confident no mortal man could ever have discovered or thought of it !

Neither are there any doubts and scruples concerning this great mystery, but what this book does clearly an- swer and resolve ; as will appear more plainly from a dis- tinct consideration of the several objections that are urged against it.

As, 1 . That it does not seem agreeable either to reason or scripture that one man should bear the sins of another ; be- cause evert/ man has enough to do to bear his own burden ; and since sin is committed against an infinite God, and there- fore deserves infinite punishment, Iiorv can any finite creature bear this infinite punishment ? especially, it being due to so many thousands of people as there are in the world!

But this book sufficiently unties this knot for me, by shewing me, that it is not a mere man, but God himself, that would bear these my sins ; even he, whose name is, Jehovah Tsidkenu, The Lord our righteousness, Jer. xxxiii. 6*. where the essential name of the most high God, which cannot possibly be given to any, but to him, who is the Being of all beings, is here given to him, who should thus bear my sins, and justify my person ; whence David also calleth him Lord, Psalm ex. 1. Isaiah calleth him, The mighty God, Isa. ix. (). Yea, and the Lord of hosts him- self, with his own mouth, calls him his fellow, Zech. xiii. 7.

Objec. 2. But my reason tells me, God is a pure act, and, therefore, how can he suffer any punishments ? or, suppose he could, how can one nature satisfy for the offences of ano- ther ? It was man that stood guilty ; and how can it stand with the justice of God, not to punish man j or the sins he is guilty qf?

To resolve this doubt, this holy book assures me, that God should become man, expressly telling me, that as his name is, Wonderful, Counsello?', the Mighty God, the

40 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, so should he be born a child, and given as a son, Isa. ix. 6. And there- fore, at the same time that the Lord of hosts calls him his fellow, he calls him a man too, Against the man that is my fellow, says the Lord of hosts, Zech. xiii. 7.

Objec. 3. But if he be born as other men are, he must needs be a sinner, as other men be ; for such as are born by natural generation, must necessarily be born also in natural corruption.

To remove this obstacle, this holy book tells me, that A virgin shall conceive and bear this Son, and his name shall be Emmanuel, Isa. vii. 14. And so being begotten, but not by a sinful man, himself shall be a man, but not a sin- ful man : and so being God and man, he is every way fit to meditate betwixt God and man ; to reconcile God to me, and me to God, that my sins may be pardoned, God's wrath appeased , and so my soul made happy in the en- joyment of him.

But there is one thing more yet, that keeps me from set- tling upon this religion ; and that is, the expiration of the time in which this book promiseth this person should come into this world ; for it is expressly said, Dan. ix. 24. that Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon the city, to finish the transgressions, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in ever- lasting righteousness, and to seal tip the vision, and the pro- phecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. From which anoint- ing he is, in the next verse, called Messiah, the Anointed, (under which name he is, from hence, expected by the Jews) and the beginning of these seventy weeks is express- ly said, ver. 25. to be at the going forth of the command' ment to build and restore Jerusalem. Now if we understand these seventy weeks in the largest sense for seventy weeks, or sabbaths of years, as it is expressed Lev. xxv. 8. the time of the Messmh's coming must have been but 490 years after the commandment for the building of the city ; where- as-whether we understand it of the decree and command that Cyrus made, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23. Ezra i. 1,2, 3. or that which Darius made, Ezra vi. or that Artaxerxes made, chap. vii. I say, whichsoever of these decrees we understand this prophecy of, it is evident that it is above 2000 years since they were all made ; and therefore,' the time of this person's coming hath been expired above l600 years at least.

So likewise doth this book of the law, (as they call it)

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 41

assure us, that the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet until Shiloh come, Gen. xlix. 10. where the Jews themselves, Jonathan and Onke- los, expound the word Shiloh by Messiah ; and so doth the Jerusalem targum too. Now it is plain that there hath been neither sceptre nor lawgiver in Judah, nor any poli- tical government at all among the Jews, for above 1600 years ; which plainly shews either their prophecies and expectations of a Messiah are false, or that he came into the world so many ages since, as were here prefixed.

So likewise it was expressly foretold in this book, that the glory of the second temple should be greater than the glo- ry of the formers, Hag. ii. 9. Now the Jews themselves acknowledge, that there were, five of the principal things which were in the first, wanting in the second temple, viz. 1. The ark with the mercy-seat and cherubim. 2. The Shechinah, or divine presence. 3. The holy prophetical Spirit. 4. The Urim and Thummim. 5. The heavenly fire : and from the want of these five things they say, the words / will be glorified, Hag. i. 8. wants an he at the end, which in numeration denotes five. Yea, and when the very foundation of the second temple was laid, the old men that had seen the first, wept to see how far short it was likely to come of the former, Ezra iii. 12. To make up therefore the glory of the second temple, to be greater than the glory of the first, notwithstanding the want of so many glorious things they must of necessity, understand it of the coming of the Messiah into it, who, ver. 8. is called, The desire of all nations. Whereas the Jews them- selves cannot but confess that this temple hath been de- molished above 1600 years; and therefore, it is impossible for the Messiah to come into it, and for its glory to be great- er than the glory of the first temple ; and, by consequence, for the word which they profess to believe in to be true.

Indeed, the time of the Messiah's coming was so ex- pressly set down in these and the like places, that Elias, one of their great rabbies, gathered from hence that the world should last 6000 years, 2000 without the law, 2000 under the law, and 2000 under the Messiah, Sanh. c. 11. which computation of the Messiah's coming after 4000 years, from the beginning of the world, comes near the time of the sceptre's departing from Judah, and the end of Daniel's seventy weeks. Which shews,- that this rabbi was fully convinced, that it was about that time that the Messiah should come. And therefore, it was, likewise,

4-2 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

that about iGOO years ago, the Jews did so generally ex- pect his coming ; and that so many did pretend to be the person, as Baz-Cozbah, who about that time, vaunting himself to be the man, almost the whole nation unani- mously concurred in following him, insomuch, that, as the Jews report, there were no less than 400,000, or as others, 500,000 men slain by Adrian the emperor, in the city Bitter, all fighting in defence of this pretended Mes- siah. There were likewise many others that fancied them- selves to be the man, and were esteemed by some, till ma- nifestedly convinced of their error, as we may read in some of then* books. And unto this day many of them hold that he is already come, but that, by reason of their sins, he is not yet revealed unto them.

Hence it is, that my natural reason draws me into this dilemma, that either that book which the Jews receive as the word of God is indeed not so ; or else that they do not rightly apply it : and so, that either their religion is a false religion, or else their profession of it a false profession : and therefore, I must go hence and seek me some other religion to fix my soul upon. Not as if my reason told me, that all the prophecies which I have mentioned here, were false in themselves, but only that they appear so to this sort of professors ; for, for my own part, I cannot shake off my faith in this law, which they profess to be- lieve in ; especially now I have so seriously perused it, and so deliberately weighed and considered of it. Neither can I believe that ever any Mahometan or Indian, that did, without prejudice, set himself to read it through, and to examine every particular, by the light of unbiassed reason, could say, it was ever hatched in a human brain ; but that it is indeed of a heavenly stamp and divine authority. And, therefore, though I am forced by the strength of reason to shake hands with this religion, yet the same rea- son will not suffer me to lay aside that law, which they do profess, but only their profession of it. So that whatso- ever religion I settle upon, my natural conscience still commands me to stick close to this book of the Jewish law, and to receive and entertain it as the word of the glorious Jehovah, the Being of all beings.

Well, there is but one religion more generally professed in the world, that I am to search into ; which, if upon good grounds, I cannot fix upon, I shall be the most mi- serable of all creatures ; and that is, the christian religion, so named from Jesus Christ, whose doctrine, life^ and

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 48

death, is recorded by four several persons, in a book which they call the Gospel. And this book appears to me to be of undoubted authority, as to the truth and certainty of those things that are therein recorded. For, if they had been false, both the persons that wrote them, and he of whom they wrote had so many malicious enemies ready, upon all occasions, to accuse them, that they had long ago been condemned for lies and forgeries. But now, these writings have been extant for above l600 years, and ne- ver so much as suspected, but even by the worst of ene- mies, acknowledged to be a true relation of what passed in the world about that time ; my reason will not permit me to be their first accuser, but enjoins me to receive them, under that notion, in which they have been brought down to me through so many generations, without any inter- ruption whatsoever. For this general reception on all hands, is a sufficient ground for me to build my faith upon, as to the truth of the relation, though not a suffici- ent ground to believe every thing contained in the book, to be the word of God himself; for, in this particular, it is not the testimony of others that I am to build upon, but its own ; I may read its verity in man's testimony, but its divinity onjy in its own doctrines.

This book, therefore, I have also diligently perused, and find it expressly asserts, that Jesus Christ, whose life and death it records, was indeed that person, who was long promised by God, and expected by the JewTs : and, that all the prophecies under the old law, concerning that Messiah, God-man, were actually fulfilled in this person : which if, upon diligent search, I can find to be true, I shall presently subscribe both with hand and heart, to this religion. It is a comfort to me that it acknowledgeth the Jewish law to be sent from God ; for, truly, if it did not, my conscience would scarcely permit me to give any cre- dit to it ; being so fully convinced that that book is indeed of a higher extract than human invention, and of greater authority than human institution. And therefore it is that I cannot, I dare not believe, but that every particular pro- phecy contained in it, either is, or shall be, certainly ful- filled, according to every circumstance of time and place mentioned therein ; and by consequence, that this pro- phecy, in particular, concerning the Messiah's coming, is already past ; the time wherein it was foretold he should come, being so long ago expired. So that I do not now doubt whether the Messiah be come or no, but whether

41 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

this Jesus Christ, whom this book of the gospel speaks of, was indeed the person. And this I shall best find out by comparing the Christian's gospel with the Jewish laAv ; or the histories of Christ under the one, with the prophecies of the Messiah, under the other ; still concluding, that if whatsoever was foretold concerning the Messiah, was ful- filled in this Jesus Christ, then he was indeed the Messiah that was to come into the world. And to make this com- parison the more exact, I shall run through the several circumstances that attended his birth, life, death, resur- rection, and ascension, and shew how punctually the pro- phecies were fulfilled in every particular.

And first, for the birth of the Messiah, the law saith, he was to be born of the seed of Abraham, Gen. xxii. 18. and David, 2 Sam. vii. 17. and of the stem of Jesse, Isa. xi. 1. from whence he is frequently called by the Jews, Bar- David, the son of David. The gospel saith, Jesus Christ mas the son of David, the son of Abraham, Matt. i. 1. The law, that he was to be bom of a virgin, Isa. vii. 14. The gospel, that Mary, a virgin, brought forth this Jesus, Matt, i. 18. Lukei. 17, 31, 85. chap. ii. 5, 6, 7- The law, that he was to be bom at Bethlehem Ephratah, Mic. v. 2. The gospel, that this Jesus was born there, Matt. ii. 1 . Luke iv. 5, 6.

The law says, that he was to be brought out of Egypt, Hos. xi. 1. The gospel, that Jesus was called thence, Matt. ii. 19, 20. The law saith, that one should go before the Messiah, Mai. iii. 5. and should cry in the wilderness, Isa. xl. 3. The gospel, that John Baptist did so before Christ, Matt. iii. I, 2. Mark i. 2, 3. The law, that the Messiah should preach the doctrine of salvation in Galilee, who sitting before in darkness should see great light, Isa. ix. 1, 2. The gospel, that Jesus did so, Matt. iv. 12, 23. The law, that in the Messiah's days, the eyes of the blind should be opened, and the ears of the deaf should be. unstop- ped, and the lame leap, and the tongue of the dumb sing, Isa. xxxv. 5, 6. The gospel, that it was so in the days of Je- sus Christ, Matt. iv. 23. chap. xi. 5. But for all these wonders and miracles, the law saith, they should hear, but not understand, and see, yet not perceive, Isa. vi. <). And the gospel, that seeing they did not see, and hearing^ they did not hear, neither did they understand, Matt. xiii. 13. Mark iv. 12. The law, that he should be despised andre-> jected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, Isa. liii. 3. The gospel, that Jesus Christ had no where to

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 45

lay his head, Matt. viii. 20. His soul was exceeding sor- rowful even unto death, Matt. xxvi. 38. yea, he was in. an ago- ny, and his sweat jvas as drops of blood, Luke xxii. 24. so well was he acquainted with grief. The law says, that he should ride into Jerusalem, upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass, Zech. ix. 9- And the gospel, that Je- sus Christ, as he was going to Jerusalem, having found an ass, sat thereon, John xii. 14. Matt. xxi. 6. At which time, the law saith, the people should cry, Hosanna, blessed is he that comcth in the name of the Lord, Psal. cxviii. 26. The gospel, that the multitude did so to Christ, Matt. xxi. 9« The law, that one of his own familiar friends, in whom he trusted, which did eat of his bread, should lift up his heel against him, Psal. xli. 9- The gospel, that Judas who was one of Christ's disciples, and so eat of his bread, did betray him into the hands of the Jews, Matt. xxvi. 47. Luke xxii. 46. The law, that he should be prized at, and sold for thirty pieces of silver, with which should be bought the potter's field, Zech. xi. 12, 13. The gospel, that they covenanted with Judas, to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver, Matt. xxvi. 15. with which they after- wards bought the potter's field, chap, xxvii. 7. The law, that he should be numbered amongst transgressors, Isa. liii. 12. The gospel, that Jesus was crucified betwixt two thieves, Mark xv. 27- Matt, xxvii. 38. The law, that he should be wounded and bruised, Isa. liii. 5. The gospel,, that they scourged Jesus, Matt, xxvii. 20. and smote him, Mark xv. 19. The law saith, they should pierce his hands and feet, Psal. xxii. 16. Zech. xii. 10. The gospel, that they cruci- fied Jesus, Matt, xxvii. 35. Luke xxiii. which was a death, wherein they used to pierce the hands and feet of those that were put to death, and nailed them to the cross. But though they should pierce his rlesh, yet the law saith, that they should not break his bones, no not one of them, Exod. xii. 46. Numb. xi. 12. Psal. xxxiv. 20. The gospel, that they brake not the legs of Christ, John xix. 33, 36. The law, that they who should see him, should laugh him to scorn, shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying, he trusted in the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him, Psal. xxii. 8. The gospel, that the scribes and elders did so to Christ, Matt, xxvii. 42, 43. The law saith, they should give him gall for meat, and vinegar to drink, Psal. Ixix. 21. And the gospel, that they gave Christ vinegar to drink, mingled with gall, Matt, xxvii. 34, 48. The law, that they should part his gar-

46 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

merits amongst them, and cast lots upon his vesture, Psal. xxii. 19. The gospel, that they parted Jesus' garments, casting losts, Matt, xxvii. 34. John xix. 23. Mark xv. 24.

And as for the time of this Jesus' coming into the world, it is certain, that this Jesus came before the second temple was demolished; for it is said, that he went into it, Luke xix. 45 ; yea, himself, taught daily in it, ver. 17. by which means the glory of the second temple was greater than the glory of the first, according to the prophecy, Hag. ii. 9. And as for Jacob's prophecy, that the sceptre should not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver, till Shiloh, or the Messiah came, Gen. xlix. 10. it is certain that it did not depart from Judah, till Herod, by the senate of Rome, was made king of Judea, in whose days this Jesus was born. Matt. ii. 1 . Luke i. 5. And so did Daniel's 70 weeks, or 490 years, exactly reach unto, and were determined in, the days of this Jesus, as might easily be demonstrated. So that all the old prophecies, concerning the time of the Messiah's coming, are perfectly fulfilled in this Jesus of Nazareth.

But farther, the law saith that though the Messiah should be crucified, yet God will not leave, his soul in hclu nor buffer his holy one to see corruption, Psal. xvi. 10. and that when God should make his sold an offering for sin, he should see his seed, and prolong his days, Isa. liii. 10. which plainly implies, that though the Messiah should die, yet he should rise again, and that within a few days too, other- wise he would have seen corruption. Now the gospel saith, that this Jesus rose from the dead, Matt, xxviii. 6. Luke xxiv. 6. and that he was seen of several after his resurrec- tion, as of Mary Magdalen, Matt, xxviii. 9. of the eleven disciples, ver. 16, 17, 18. Mark xvi. 14, of the two that were going to Emmaus, Luke xxiv, 13, 14, 15. of Peter, ver. 34. and of the disciples that were gathered together, the door being shut, John xx. 19. And, to be sure it was himself and not an apparition, Thomas, one of the twelve, thrust his hands into his side, and found it flesh and blood, indeed as before, John xx. 27- And he eat before them, Luke xx. 43. which it is impossible for a spirit to do ; yea, he was seen of above five hundred at one time, 1 Cor. xv. 6. and cfPaul himself, ver. 8. Neither did he lie so long as to see corruption, for he was buried but the day before the sabbath, Mark xv. 42. and rose the day after, chap. xv. 1 .

Lastly, He was not only to rise again, but the lav; saith, he was to ascend on high, to lead captivity captive, and to

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 47

give gifts to men, Psal. lxviii. 18. Now this cannot but be an undoubted character of the Messiah, not only to rise from the dead, but to ascend up to heaven, and thence to disperse his gifts among the children of men ; and that Jesus did so, is likewise evident from the gospel ; for, af- ter he had spoken with them, he was received up into heaven, and there sat at the right hand of God, Mark xvi. 19. Luke xxiv. 51. And he gave such gifts to men, as that his dis- ciples, of a sudden, were enabled to speak all manner of languages, Acts ii. 8. to work many signs and wonders, chap, v. 12. to heal all manner of diseases, ver. 15, 16. yea, with a word speaking, to cure a man lame from his mother s womb, chap. iii. 6", 7.

Thus the gospel seems to me to be a perfect transcript of the law, and the histories of Jesus nothing else but the prophecies of Christ turned into a history. And, when to this I join the consideration of the piety of the life which this man led, the purity of the doctrine which he taught, and the miraculousness of the works he wrought, I can- not but be farther confirmed in the truth of what is here related. For the miracles which he wrought, as the heal- ing of the sick with a word of his mouth, raising the dead, feeding so many thousa?ids with five loaves, and the like, were powerful and convincing, that his very enemies, that would not believe him to be the Messiah, could scarce deny him to be a God, Joseph. Antq. 1. xviii. c. 4. And it is to this day, a tenet amongst some of them, that the miracles which Jesus did, were not the delusions and jug- glements of the devil, but real miracles, wrought as they say, by the virtue of the name of God, Jehovah, which he had gotten out of the temple. By which it is plain, they acknowledged God to be the author of them, which I cannot see how he should be, unless they were agreeable to his will, and for the glory of his name.

Neither was the doctrine of. the gospel only established at the first, but likewise propagated by miracles afterwards, as it was necessary it should be, for, if it had been propa- gated without miracles, itself had been the greatest mira- cle of all. It was, no doubt, a great miracle, that a doc- trine so much contrary to flesh and blood, should be propa- gated by any means whatsoever ; but a far greater, that it should be propagated by a company of simple and illiterate men, who had neither power to force, nor eloquence to persuade men to the embracing of it. For who would have thought that such persons as these were, should fever

48 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

make any of the Jews, who expected a king for their Mes- siah, to advance them to temporal dignities, or believe, that that Jesus, whom themselves scourged and crucified at Jerusalem, was the person ? Or, that they should be able to propagate the gospel amongst the Gentiles also, who neither believed in the true God, nor expected any thing of a Messiah to come and redeem them ? But this they did, and brought over not only many persons, but whole nations and countries to the profession of the gos- pel ; propagating this most holy doctrine among the most barbarous and sinful people in the world, maugre all the opposition that the world, the flesh, and the devil, could make against it. Now can any man, that exerciseth his reason think they did all this purely by their own strength? No sure, none of these wonderful effects could ever have been produced by any thing less than the wisdom, and power, and faithfulness of their Lord and master, whose service they were engaged in, and who promised to be with them to the end of the world, Matt, xxviii. 20. Ques- tionless, it was nothing else but the Spirit of the most high God, that went along with them, and accompanied the word they preached ; otherwise, it never could have made such deep impression upon the hearts of them that heard it, as not only to command their attention, but to hinder them from resisting, when they strove and endeavoured to do it, the power and authority by which the disciples spake.

And now, methinks, 1 begin to perceive this divine spi- rit is come upon me too, and seems, by its powerful influ- ence, to be working up my heart into a thorough persua- sion, that it is Christ, and Christ alone, I am to cast my soul upon ; that it is he alone, that is the way to life, and his word alone, the word of life, which whosoever believes, and is baptized into, shall be saved, and he that believcth not, shall be damned. Away, then, with your Pagan idola- tries, your Mahometan superstitions, and Jewish ceremo- nies ; it is the Christian religion alone, that I am resolved to live and die in, because it is this alone, in which I am taught to worship God aright, to obtain the pardon and re- mission of my sins, and to be made eternally happy. And, since all its doctrines and precepts are contained in the holy scriptures, it is necessary that I shall assent unto them, as a standing revelation of God's will, and an eternal treasure of divine knowledge ; whereby all, that sincerely believe

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 4<)

in Christ, may be sufficiently instructed, as well as tho- roughly furnished, unto every good word and work.

Without any more ado, therefore, I believe, and am verily persuaded, that all the books of the ancient law, with all those that have been received into the canon of the scripture by the church of God, since the coming of Christ, which we call the New Testament ; I say, that all these books, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Revelations, are indeed the word of the eternal God, dic- tated by his own Spirit, unto such as himself was pleased to employ in the writing of them ; and that they contain in them a perfect and complete rule of faith and manners ; upon the due observance of which, I cannot fail of wor- shipping and serving God, in such a manner, as will be acceptable to him here, and of enjoying hereafter those ex- ceeding great and precious jjromises, that he has reserved in heaven, for such as do so.

Unto these books, therefore, of the law and gospel, I am resolved by his grace that wrote them, to conform all the ensuing articles of my faith, and all the actions and reso- lutions of my life. Insomuch that whatsoever I find it hath pleased his Sacred Majesty herein to insert, I believe it is my duty to believe; and whatsoever he hath been pleased to command me, I believe it is my duty to perform.

ARTICLE III.

/ believe that as there is one God, so this one God is three Persons—Father, Son, and Hohj Ghost.

HpHIS, I confess, is a mystery which I cannot possibly -■- conceive, yet it is a truth which I can easily believe ; yea, therefore it is so true, that I can easilv believe it « because it is so high, that I cannot possibly conceive it • for it is impossible any thing should be true of the infinite Creator, which can be fully expressed to the capacities of a finite creature : and, for this reason, I ever did, and ever shajl, look upon those apprehensions of God to be the truest, whereby we apprehend him to be the most in- comprehensible : and that to be the most true of God which seems most impossible unto us.

Upon this ground, therefore, it is, that the mysteries of the gospel, which I am less able to conceive, I think my- self the more obliged to believe ; especially this mystery ef

50 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

mysteries, the Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, which I am so far from being able to comprehend, or indeed to appre- hend, that I cannot set myself seriously to think of it, or to screw up my thoughts a little concerning it, but I immedi- ately lose myself, as in a trance, or ecstacy : that God the Father should be one perfect God of himself, God the Son one perfect God of himself, and God the Holy Ghost one perfect God of himself : and yet that these three should be but one perfect God of himself; so that one should be per- fectly three, and three perfectly one ; that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost should be three, and yet but one ; but one and yet three ! O heart-amazing, thought-devour- ing, unconceivable mystery ! Who cannot believe it to be true of the glorious Deity ? Certainly, none but such as are able to apprehend it, which, I am sure, I cannot, and believe, no other creature can. And, because no creature can possibly conceive how it should be so, I therefore be- lieve it really to be so, viz; That the Being of all beings is but one in essence, yet three in substance ; but one na- ture, yet three persons ; and that those three persons in that one nature, though absolutely distinct from one ano- ther, are yet but the same God. And I believe, these three persons, in this one nature, are indeed to one ano- ther as they are expressed to be to us, that the one is really a Father to the other, that the other is really a Son to him, the third the product of both : and yet, that there is nei- ther first, second, nor third amongst them, either in time or nature. So that he that begat was not at all before him that was begotten, nor he that proceeded from them both, any whit after either of them. And therefore, that God is not termed Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as if the di- vine nature of the one should beget the divine nature of the second : or the divine nature of the first and second should issue forth the divine nature of the third ; (for then there would be three divine natures, and so three Gods essentially distinct from one another ; by this means also, only the Father would be truly God, because he only would be essentially of and from himself, and the other two from him :) but what I think myself obliged to be- lieve, is, that it was not the divine nature, but the divine person of the Father which did, from eternity, beget the divine person of the Son ; and from the divine persons of the Father, and of the Son, did, from eternity, proceed the divine person of the Holy Ghost ; and so one not be- ing before the other, in time or nature, as they are from

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 51

eternity three perfectly distinct persons, so they are but one co-essential God. But dive not, O my soul, too deep into this bottomless ocean, this abyss of mysteries ! It is the holy of holies, presume not to enter into it ; but let this suffice thee, that he, who best knows himself, hath avouch- ed it to himself, and therefore thou oughtest to believe it, see Matt, xxviii. lp. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And again, 1 John v. 7. There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.

ARTICLE IV.

/ believe that I was conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity ; and that, ever since, I have been continually conceiving mischief, and bringing forth vanity.

HP HIS article of my faith, I must of necessity believe, -*-■ whether I will or no; for if I could not believe it to be true, I should therefore have the more cause to believe it to be so ; because unless my heart was naturally very sinful and corrupt, it would be impossible for me not to believe that which I have so much cause continually to be- wail ; or, if I do not bewail it, I have still the more cause to believe it ; and, therefore, am so much the more per- suaded of it, by how much the less I find myself affected with it. For, certainly, I must be a hard-hearted wretch indeed, steeped in sin, and fraught with corruption to the highest, if I know myself so oft to have incensed the wrath of the most high God against me, as I do, and yet not be sensible of my natural corruption, nor acknowledge my- self to be, by nature, a child of wrath, as well as others. For, I verily believe, that the want of such a due sense of myself argues as much original corruption, as murder and whoredom do actual pollution. And, I shall ever suspect those to be most under the power of that corruption, that labour most, by arguments, to divest it of its power.

And, therefore, for my own part, I am resolved by the grace of God never to go about to confute that by wilful arguments, which I find so true by woeful experience. If there be not a. bitter root in my heart, whence proceeds so much bitter fruit in my life and conversation ? Alas ! I can neither set my hand nor heart about any thing, but I still C 2

52 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

shew myself to be the sinful offspring of sinful parents, by being the sinful parent of a sinful offspring. Nay, I do not only betray the in-bred venom of my heart, by poi- soning my common actions, but even my most religious performances also, with sin. I cannot pray, but I sin ; nay, I cannot hear, or preach a sermon, but I sin ; I can- not give an alms, or receive the sacrament, but I sin ; nay, I cannot so much as confess my sins, but my very confes- sions are still aggravations of them ; my repentance needs to be repented of, my tears want washing, and the very washing of my tears need still to be washed over again with the blood of my Redeemer. Thus, not only the worst of my sins, but even the best of my duties, speak me a child of Adam : insomuch that whensoever I reflect upon my past actions, methinks I cannot but look upon my whole life, from the time of my conception to this very moment, to be but as one continued act of sin.

And whence can such a continued stream of corruption flow, but from the corrupt cistern of my heart? And whence can that corrupt cistern of my heart be filled, but from the corrupt fountain of my nature ? Cease therefore, O my soul, to gainsay the power of original sin within thee, and labour now to subdue it under thee. But, why do I speak of my subduing this sin myself ? Surely, this would be both an argument of it, and an addition to it. " It is to thee, O my God, who art both the searcher and " cleanser of hearts, that I desire to make my moan ! " It is to thee I cry out in the bitterness of my soul, 0 " wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the " body of this death ? Who shall ? Oh ! Who can do it, " but thyself ? Arise thou, therefore, O my God, and " shew thyself as infinitely merciful in the pardoning, as i( thou art infinitely powerful in the purging away of my " sins."

ARTICLE V.

1 believe the Son of God became the Son of man, that J the son of man, ?night become the son tfGod.

OH ! how comfortably does this raise me from the low- est abasement of sin and misery, which I have before acknowledged to be my natural state, to the highest exal- tation of happiness and glory, in a spiritual one ! This is

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 53

that great article of faith, by which all the benefits of our Saviour's death and passion are made over to me in the new covenant, and by which, if I perform the conditions there- in required, I shall not only be retrieved from the bond- age and corruption that is inherent in me, as a child of wrath, but be justified and accepted as the son of God, and be made a joint heir with Christ. This a point of the greatest moment and concern, which, by the grace and assistance of him of whom I speak, and in whom I thus believe, I shall therefore be the more exact and particular in the searching and examining into.

Now, when I say, and believe, that God became man, I do not so understand it, as if the divine nature took upon it a human person, but that a divine person took upon him the human nature, i. e. it was not the divine nature, in ge- neral, without respect to the persons, but one of the per- sons in the divine nature, which took flesh upon him, and yet, to speak precisely, it was not the divine person ab- stracted or distinct from the divine nature, but it was the divine nature in that person which thus took upon it the human. And this was not the first or third, but the se- cond person only in the sacred Trinity, that thus assumed our nature; and, considering the mysterious order and economy of the divine persons, it seems to be necessary that it should.

For, first, the Father could not have become this Son of man, because, theh, he, that had begotten from eter- nity, should have been begotten in time ; by which means, as he was the Father to the Son, so would the Son also have been the Father unto him ; and so the order betwixt the Father and Son destroyed.

Nor, secondly, could the Holy Ghost have taken our nature upon him, because the bond of personal union be- twixt the divine and human nature is from the Spirit, (and thence it is, that every one that is partaker of Christ's per- son, is partaker of his Spirit also) which could not be if the Spirit itself had been the person assuming. For, I cannot conceive, how the same person could unite itself, by itself, to the assumed nature : and therefore we read, that in the virgin's conception of our Saviour, it was neither the Father nor the Son himself, but the Spirit of the most high, which did overshadow her, Luke i. 25.

And, farther, if the Holy Ghost had been my Redeem- er, who should have been my sanctifier ? If he had died personally for me, who should have applied his death ef- C 3

54 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

fectually to me ? That I could not do it myself is, beyond contradiction, evident ; and that either the Father, or the Son, should do it, is not agreeable to the nature or order of the divine operations ; they, as I believe, never acting any thing ad extra, personally, but by the Spirit proceed- ing from them both. And, therefore it is, that Christ, to comfort his disciples after his death, promiseth them in his life-time, that he would send them the Comforter, John xvi. 7. which is the Spirit of truth, ver. 13. He doth not say he will come again personally, but mystically to them, by his Spirit.

But now, that the Spirit, whose office it is to apply the merit and mediation of God-man to me could not have done it, if himself had been that God-man, seems to me as clear and manifest as the other : for, if he had done it, he should either have done it by the Father, by the Son, or by himself. Fie could not do it by the Father, nor the Son, because he does nothing by them, but all things from them. The Father acts in the Son by the Spirit, the Son from the Father by the Spirit, the Spirit from the Father and the .Son. And therefore it likewise follows, that as the Spirit could not unite itself before, so neither can it apply itself here, to the human nature ; for, to assume the human nature into the divine, and to apply the divine nature to the human, are two distinct offices ; and, there- fore, to be performed by two distinct persons. The first could have been done only by one that was really man, as well as God ; the other, only by one that was merely God, and not man.

And that must needs be so : for, otherwise, God should act upon man by man, by the person man, as well as God ; and, by consequence, all the dispensations of his grace towards us, would have been stopped in the frailty of the human, though perfect nature. So that it would have availed me nothing, if the Spirit had taken my na- ture upon him ; because, though he had assumed the hu- man, I could not thence have participated of the divine nature ; nay, therefore, I could not have participated of this, because he had assumed that, by which alone I could be brought into this capacity ; and so by this means, I should be farther off than I was before.

And lastly, as, if the Father had become man, there would have been two Fathers ; so if the Spirit had become man, there would have been two Sons, the second per- son begotten from eternity, and the third person begotten

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 55

in time. But now, by the Son's taking our nature upon him, these and far greater difficulties are avoided, which we might easily perceive, could we sufficiently dive into the depth of that wisdom of the Father, in sending his Son, rather than his Spirit, or coming himself in his own per- son. However, to us, it cannot but seem most equita- ble, (if reason may hold the balance) that he, who is the middle person, between the Father and the Spirit, should become the mediator betwixt God and man ; and that he, who is the Son of God in the glorious Trinity, should be- come the Son of man in his gracious mystery.

But, on the other side, as it wasfnot the divine nature, but a divine person that did assume, so neither was it a human person, but the human nature that was assumed ; for otherwise, if he had assumed the person of any one man in the world, his death had been beneficial to none but him, whose person he thus assumed and represented. Whereas, now that he has assumed the nature of man in general, all that partake of that nature, are capable of partaking of the benefit he purchased for us, by dying in our stead. And thus under each, Adam, as the represen- tation was universal, so were the effects designed to be ; For as in Adam all died, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, 1 Cor. xv. 22.

Again, when I say, the Son of God became the Son of man, I do not mean, as if, by this, he should cease to be what he was before, the Son of God, for he did not leave his Godhead to take upon him the manhood ; but I believe he took the manhood into his Godhead ; he did not put off the one, to put on the other, but he put one upon the other : neither do I believe that the human nature, when assumed into the divine, ceased to be human ; but as the divine person so assumed the human nature, as still to re- main a divine person, so the human nature was so assum- ed into a divine person, as still to remain a human na- ture : God, therefore, so became man, as to be both per- fectly God, and perfectly man, united together in one person.

I say, in one person ; for if he should be God and man in distinct persons, this would avail me no more, than if he should be God only, and not man, or man only, and not God; because the merit and value both of his active and passive obedience is grounded merely upon the union of the two natures in one and the same person. He there- fore, by his life and death, merited so much for us, be* C 4

56 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

cause the same person, that so lived and died, was God as well as man ; and every action that he did, and every pas- sion that he suffered, was done and suffered by him that was God, as well as man. And hence it is, that Christ, of all the persons in the world, is so fit, yea, only fit, to be my Re- deemer, Mediator, and Surety ; because he alone is both God and man in one person. If he was not man, he could not undertake that office ; if he was not God, he could not perform it : if he was not man, he could not be capable of being bound for me ; if he was not God, he would not be able to pay my debt. It was man by whom the covenant was broken ; and, therefore, man must have suitable pu- nishment laid upon him : it was God with whom it was broken ; and, therefore, God must have sufficient satis- faction made unto him : and, as for that satisfaction, it Was man that had offended, and, therefore, man alone could make it suitable ; it was God that was offended, and, therefore, God alone could make it sufficient.

The sum of all this is : man can suffer, but he cannot satisfy ; God can satisfy, but he cannot suffer ; but Christ being both God and man, can both suffer and satisfy too ; and so is perfectly fit both to suffer for man, and to make satisfaction unto God, to reconcile God to man, and man to God. And thus, Christ having assumed my nature » his person, ice fbr my sins,

i Ban re -:' ■•'■. ed ; ■ ■ . ■■ I . ' agdn with the most

high God.

Upon this principle, I believe, that I, by nature the son of man, am made, by grace, the son of God, as really as Christ, by nature the Son of God, was made by office, the Son of man : and so, though in myself, / may say to corruption thou art my mother, yet in Christ I may say to God, Abba Father. Neither do I believe this to be a me- taphorical expression, viz. because he doth that for me, which a father doth for his child, even provide for me whilst young, and give me my portion when come to age; but I believe, that in the same propriety of speech that my earthly father was called the father of my natural self, is God the father of my spiritual self : for, why was my earthly father called my father, but because that I, as to my natural being, was born of what proceeded from him, viz. his seed ? Why so, as to my spiritual being, am I born of what proceeds from God, his Spirit : and as I was not bom of the very substance of my natural parents, but only of what came from them ,• so neither is my spiritual

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 57

self begotten again, quickened and constituted of the very substance of my heavenly Father, God, but of the Spirit and spiritual influences proceeding fron lim. Thus, therefore, it is, that I believe that Christ, th 3 Son of God, became the Son of man ; and thus it is that I believe my- self the son of man to be made, thereby, the son of God, « I believe, O my God and Father, do thou help mine un- " belief ! and every day more and more increase my faith, u till itself shall be done away, and turned into the most i* perfect vision and fruition of thine own glorious God- « head !"

ARTICLE VI.

/ believe that Christ lived to God, and died for sin, that I migkl die to sin, and live with God.

4 ND thus, by faith, I follow my Saviour from the ii womb to the tomb, from his incarnation to his death and passion, believing all that he did or suffered, to be for my sake ; for Christ did not only take my nature upon him, but he suffered and obeyed; he underwent miseries, and undertook duties for me ; so that not only his passive, but likewise his active obedience unto God, in that na- ture, was still for me. Not as if I believed, his duty as man was not God's debt, by the law of creation ; yes ; I believe that he owed that obedience unto God, that if he had committed but one sin, and that of the lightest tine-* ture, in all his life-time, he would have been so far from being able to satisfy for my sins, that he could not have satisfied for his own ; For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens ; who needed not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the peoples, Heb. vii. 26, 27. So that if he had not had these qualifications in their absolute perfection, he could not have been our high priest, nor, by consequence, have made atonement for, nor expiated any sins whatso- ever. But now, though both as man, and as God-man or Mediator too, it behoved him to be thus faithful and spoU less; yet, as being God, co-equal and co-essential with the Father, it was not out of duty, but merely upon our account, that he thus subjected his neck to the yoke of his own law ; himself, as God, being the legislator or law* giver, and so no more under it, than the Father himself, C 5

58 THOUGHTS OX RELIGION.

And hereupon it is, that I verily believe, that whatso- ever Christ either did or suffered in the flesh, was merito- rious ; not that his life was righteous towards God, only that his death might be meritorious for us (which I believe otherwise it could not have been) but that his life was equally meritorious, as righteous. So, that I believe my person is as realty accepted, as perfectly righteous, by the righteousness of his life imputed to me, as my sins are par- doned by God, for the bitterness of the death he suffered for them ; his righteousness being as really by faith im- puted to me, as my sins were laid upon him : as those are jet upon his, so is that set upon my score; and so every thing he did in his life, as well as every thing lie suffered in his deaths is mine ; by the latter God looks upon me as per- fectly innocent, and therefore not to be thrown down to hell j by the former he looks upon me as perfectly righ- teous, and, therefore, to be brought up to heaven.

And, as for his death, I believe it was not only as much, but infinitely more, satisfactory to divine justice, than though I should have died to eternity. For, by that means, justice is actually and perfectly satisfied already, which it could never have been, for my suffering for my sins myself; for if justice by that means could ever be sa- tisfied/ if it could ever say, // is enough ; it could not stand with the same justice, now satisfied, still to inflict punishment, nor, by consequence, could the damned just- ly scorch in the flames of God's wrath for ever. Neither did the death of my Saviour reach only to the condemn- ing, but likewise to the commanding power of sin ; it did not on! v pluck out its sting, but likewise deprive it of its strength ; so that he did not only merit by his death, that I should never die for sin, but likewise, that I should die to it. Neither did he only merit by his life, that I should be accounted righteous in him before God; but likewise that I should be made righteous in myself by God. Yea, I believe that Christ by his death hath so fully discharged the debt I owe to God, that now, for the remission of my sins, and the accepting of my person (if I perform the con- dition he requires in his covenant) I may not only appeal to the throne of grace, but likewise to the judgment-seat of God ; I may not only cry, u Mercy, mercy, O gracious " Father, but, justice, justice, my righteous God ;" I may not only say, Lord, be gracious and merciful, but be just and faithful, to acquit me from that debt, and cancel that bond which my surety hath paid for me, and which thou

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. $9

Tiast promised to accept of; being not only gracious and mer- ciful, but just and faithful, to forgive me my sins, and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness, 1 John i. 9.

ARTICLE VII.

/ believe that Christ rose from the grave, that I might rise from sin, and that he is ascended into heaven that I may come unto him.

A

S Christ came from heaven to earth, so I believe he went from earth to heaven, and all for the accomplish- ment of my salvation ; that after he had lived a most holy life, he died a most cruel death ; that he was apprehended, arraigned, accused, and condemned, by such as could not pronounce the sentence against him, did not himself, at the same time, vouchsafe them breath to do it ; and that he that came into the world to take away the sins of it, to bring sinners to the joys of life, was himself by those very- sinners brought into the pangs of death. But yet, as it was not in the power of death long to detain the Lord of life ; so, though the worms had power to send him to the grave, yet I believe they had not power or time to feed upon him there ; for he rose again from the dead the third day : he lay three days, that I might believe he was not alive, but dead ; he arose the third day, that I might be- lieve he is not dead, but lives ; he descended down to hell, that he might make full satisfaction to God's justice for my sins ; but he is now ascended up into heaven, that he might make intercession to God's mercy for my soul : thi- ther I believe he is gone, and there I believe he is, not as a private person, but as the head and Saviour of his church. And under this capacity, as I believe that Christ is there for me, so I am there in him : For where the head is, there must the members be also; that is, I am as really there in him, my representative now, as I shall be in my own proper person hereafter ; and he is as really preparing my man- sion for me there, as I am preparing myself for that man- sion here. Nay, I believe, that he is not only preparing a mansion for me in heaven, but that himself is likewise preparing me for this mansion upon earth, continually sending down and issuing forth from himself fresh sup- plies and influences of his grace and Spirit ; and all to qualify me for his service, and make me meet to be partaker of his inheritance with the saints in light* C 6

60 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

Which inheritance, I believe, he doth so much desire his Father tc bestow upon me, as he claims it for me ; himself having purchased it with the price of his own blood. And as he hath purchased the inheritance itself, so likewise the way unto it for me ; and, therefore, sues out for the pardon of those sins, and subduing those cor- ruptions which would make me unworthy of it ; and for the conveyance of those graces to me, whereby I may walk directly to it ; not only saying to his Father, con- cerning me, as Paul said to Philemon, concerning Onesi- mus, If this thy servant oweth thee any thing, set it upon my account ; I will repay it. But what is this thy servant ovveth thee, see, it is set upon my score already, and I have paid it ; what punishments he is indebted to thee, for all the offences he hath committed against thee, be- hold I have borne them already ; see how I have been wounded for his transgressions, and bruised for his iniqui- ties ; the chastisement of his peace was upon me : with my stripes therefore let him be healed, Isa. liii. 5. And thus, as he once shed his blood for me amongst men, he now pleads it for me before God ; and that not only for the washing out the guilt of my transgressions, but likewise lor the washing away the filth of my corruptions ; himself having purchased the donation of the Spirit from the Fa- ther, he there claims the communication of it unto me.

And that he hath thus undertaken to plead my cause for me, I have it under his own hand and seal ; himself by his Spirit assuring me, that if / sin, I have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous, 1 John ii. 1 . So that I believe, he is not so much my solicitor at the mercy-seat, as my advocate at the judgment-seat of God, there pleading my right and title to the crown of glory, and to every step of the way that I must go through the kingdom of grace unto it. In a word, I believe, that Christ, upon promise and engagement to pay such a price for it in time, did purchase this inheritance for me from eternity ; whereupon I was even then immediately chosen and elected into it ; and had, by this means, a place in heaven before 1 had any being upon earth ; and when the time appointed, by covenant, was come, I believe, Christ, according to his promise, paid the purchase-money, even laid down his life for me ; and then forthwith went up and took possession of this my kingdom, not for himself, but for me as my proxy and representative : so that whilst I am in my infancy, under age, I am in possession, though

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 6l

I have not as yet the enjoyment of this my inheritance ; but that is reserved for me till I come at age. And how- soever, though I do not enjoy the whole as yet, my Father allows me as much of it as he sees convenient, so much grace and so much comfort as he thinks best ; which are as a pledge of what he has laid up for me in his kingdom which is above.

ARTICLE VIII.

/ believe that my person is only justified by the merit of Christ imputed to me ; and that my nature is only sancti- fied by the Spirit of Christ implanted in me.

\ ND thus I do not only believe Christ to be my Savi- -£*- our, but I believe only Christ to be my Saviour. It was he alone that trod the ivine-p7'ess of his Father's wrath filled with the sour and bitter grapes of my sins. It was he that carried on the great work of my salvation, being himself both the author and the finisher of it. I say it was he, and he alone ; for what person or persons in the world could do it, besides himself? the angels could not if they would, the devils would not if they could ; and as for my fellow-creatures, I may as well satisfy for their sins, as they for mine ; and how little able even the best of us are to do either, i. e. to atone either for our own transgressions, or those of others, every man's experience will sufficiently inform him. For how should we, poor worms of the earth, ever hope, by our slime and mortar (if I may so speak) of our own natural abilities, to raise up a tower, whose top may reach to heaven ? Can we expect by the strength of our own hands, to take heaven by violence ? or by the price of our own works to purchase eternal glory ? It is a matter of admiration to me, how any one, that pre- tends to the use of his reason, can imagine, that he should be accepted before God for what comes from himself? For, how is it possible that I should be j ustified by good works, when I can do no good works at all before 1 be first justi- fied ? My works cannot be accepted as good, until my person be so ; nor can my person be accepted by God, till first ingrafted into Christ : before which ingrafting into the true vine, it is impossible I should bring forth good fruit; for the plowing of the wicked is sin, says Solomon, Prov. xxi. 4. yea, the sacrifices of the wicked are an abomi- nation to the Lord, chap. xv. 8. And if, both the civil

62' "thoughts on religion.

and spiritual actions of the wicked be sin, which of all their actions, shall have the honour to justify them before God ? I know not how it is with others, but for my own part, I do not remember, neither do I believe, that I ever prayed in all my life-time, with that reverence, or heard with that attention, or received the sacrament with that faith, or did any other work whatsoever, with that pure heart and single eye, as I ought to have done. Insomuch that I look upon all my righteousness asJUtky rags ; and it is in the robes only of the righteousness of the Son of God that I dare appear before the majesty of heaven. Nay, suppose I could at length, attain to that perfection, as to do good works, exactly conformable to the will of God, yet must they have better eyes than I, that can see how my obedience in one kind, can satisfy for my disobedience in another ; or how that which God commands from me, should merit any thing from him.

No, I believe there is -no person can merit any thing from God, but he that can do more than is required of him ; which it is impossible any creature should do. For, in that it is a creature, it continually depends upon God, and therefore is bound to do every thing it can, by any means possible to do for him ; especially, considering, that the creature's dependence upon God is such, that it is be- holden to him even for every action that issues from it ; without whom, as it is impossible any thing should be, so likewise that any thing should act, especially, what is good. So that to say, a man of himself can merit any thing from God, is as much as to say, that he can merit by that which of himself he doth not do ; or that one per- son can merit by that which another performs ; which is a plain contradiction. For in that it merits, it is necessarily implied, that itself acts that by which it is said to merit, but in that it doth not depend upon itself, but on another in what it acts, it is as necessarily implied, that itself doth not do that by which it is said to merit.

Upon this account, I shall never be induced to believe, that any creature, by any thing it doth, or can do, can merit, or deserve any thing at the hand of God, till it can be proved, that a creature can merit by that which God doth ; or that God can be bound to bestow any thing upon us, for that which himself alone is pleased to work in us, and by us ; which, in plain terms, would be as much as to say, that because God hath been pleased to do one good turn for us, he is therefore bound to do more ; and, be-

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 63

cause God hath enabled us to do our duty, he should therefore be bound to give us glory.

It is not, therefore, in the power of any person in the world to merit any thing from God, but such a one who is absolutely co-essential with him, and so depends not upon him either for his existence or actions. And, as there is no person can merit any thing from God, unless he be essentially the same with him, so likewise, unless he be personally distinct from him : forasmuch as, though a person may be said to merit for himself, yet he cannot be said, without a gross solecism, to merit any thing from himself. So that he that is not as perfectly another per- son from God, as really as the same in nature with him, can never be said to merit any thing at his hands.

But farther, God the Father could not properly be said to do it in his own person, because, being (according to our conception) the party offended, should he have under- taken this work for me, he, in his own person, must have undertaken to make satisfaction to his own person, for the offences committed against himself; which if he should have done, his mercy might have been much exalted, but his justice could not have been satisfied by it. For justice requires, either that the party offended should be punish- ed for these offences, or, at least some fit person in his stead, which the Father himself cannot be said to be, in that he was the party offended, to whom the satisfaction was to be made : and it is absurd to suppose, that the same person should be capable of making satisfaction, both by and to himself, at the same time.

It remains, therefore, that there were only two per- sons in the holy Trinity, who could possibly be invested with this capacity ; the Son and the Spirit : as to the lat- ter, though he be indeed the same in nature with the Fa-~ ther, and a distinct person from him, and so far in a ca- pacity to make satisfaction to him ; yet not being capable both of assuming the human nature into the divine, and also uniting and applying the divine nature to the human, (as I have shewed before in the fifth article) he was not in a capacity of making satisfaction foreman ; none being fit to take that office upon him, but he that, of himself, was perfectly God, and likewise capable of becoming perfectly man, by uniting both natures in the same person ; which the Holy Ghost could not do, because he was the person by whom, and therefore could not be the person also in whom, this union of the two natures was to be perfected,

#4 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

And yet it was by this means, and this method only, that any person could have been completely capacitated to have borne the punishment of our sins : he that was only man could not do it, because the sin was committed against God ; and he that was only God could not do it, because the sin was committed by man.

From all which, as I may fairly infer, so I hope, I may safely fix my faith in this article, viz, That there was only one person in the whole world that could do this great work for me, of justifying my person before God, and so glorifying my soul with him ; and that was the Son of God, the second person in the glorious Trinity, begotten of the substance of the Father from all eternity ; whom I apprehend and believe to have brought about the great work of my justification before God, after this or the like manner.

He being, in and of himself, perfectly co-equal, co- essential, and co-eternal with the Father, was in no sort bound to do more than the Father himself did ; and so whatsoever he should do, which the Father did not, might justly be accounted as a work of supererogation ; which, without any violation of divine justice, might be set upon the account of some other persons, even of such whom he pleased to do it for. And hereupon, out of mercy and compassion to fallen man, he covenants with his Father, that if it pleased his majesty to accept it, he would take upon him the suffering of those punishments which were due from him to man, and the performance of those duties which were due from man to him : so that whatsoever he should thus humble himself to do or suffer, should wholly be upon the account of man, himself not being any ways bound to do or suffer more in time, than he had from eter- nity.

This motion, the Father, out of the riches of his grace and mercy, was pleased to consent unto : and hereupon, the Son assuming our nature into his deity, becomes sub- ject and obedient both to the moral and ceremonial laws of his Father, and, at last, to death itself, even the death of the cross. In the one, he paid an active, in the other a passive, obedience ; and so did not only fulfil the will oi' his Father, in obeying what he had commanded, but sa- tisfied liis justice in suffering the punishment due to us for the transgressing of it. His active obedience, as it was infinitely pure and perfect, did, without doubt, infinitely transcend a>U the obedience of the sons of men, even of

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 65

Adam too, in his primitive state. For, the obedience of Adam, make the best of it, "was but the obedience of a finite creature ; whereas the obedience of Christ was the obedience of one that was infinite God, as well as man. By which means, the laws of God had higher obedience per- formed to them, than themselves in their primitive insti- tution required ; for being made only to finite creatures, they could command no more than the obedience of finite creatures ; whereas the obedience of Christ was the obe- dience of one who was the infinite Creator, as well as a fi- nite creature.

Now, this obedience being more than Christ was bound to, and only performed upon the account of those whose nature he had assumed ; as we, by faith, lay hold upon it, so God, through grace, imputes it to us, as if it had been performed by us in our own persons. And hence it is, that as, in one place, Christ is said to be made sin for us, 2 Cor. v. 21. so in another place, he is said to be made our righteousness, 1 Cor. i. 30. And in the forecited place, 2 Cor. v. 21. as he is said to be made sin for us, so we are said to be made righteousness in him : but what righteous- ness ? our own ? No, the righteousness of God, radically his, but imputatively ours : and this is the only way, whereby we are said to be made the righteousness of God, even by the righteousness of Christ's being made ours, by which we are accounted and reputed as righteous before God.

These things considered, I very much wonder, how any man can presume to exclude the active obedience of Christ from our justification before God, as if what Christ did in the flesh, was only of duty, not at all of merit ; or, as if it was for himself, and not for us. Especially, when I consider, that suffering the penalty is not what the law primarily requireth ; for the law of God requires perfect obedience, the penalty being only threatened to (not pro- perly required of) the breakers of it. For, let a man suf- fer the penalty of the law in never so high a manner, he is not therefore accounted obedient to it ; his punishment doth not speak his innocence, but rather his transgression of the law.

Hence it is, that I cannot look upon Christ, as having made full satisfaction to God's justice for me, unless he had performed the obedience I owe to God's laws, as well as borne the punishment that is due to my sins : for though he should have borne my sins, I cannot see how that could

66 - THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

denominate me righteous or obedient to the law, so as to entitle me to eternal life, according to the tenor of the old law, Do this and live, Lev. xviii. 5. Which old covenant is not disannulled or abrogated by the covenant of grace, but rather established, Rom. iii. 31. especially as to the obedience it requires from us, in order to the life it promis- eth ; otherwise, the laws of God would be mutable, and so come short of the laws of the very Medes and Persians, which alter not. Obedience, therefore, is as strictly required under the New, as it was under the Old Testament, but with this difference : there obedience in our own persons was required as absolutely necessary ; here, obedience in our surety is accepted as completely sufficient.

But now, if we have no such obedience in our surety, as we cannot have, if he did not live, as well as die, for us ; let any one tell me what title he hath, or can have, to eter- nal life ? I suppose he will tell me, he hath none in him- self, because he hath not performed perfect obedience to the law. And I tell him, he hath none in Christ, unless Christ performed that obedience for him, which none can say he did, that doth not believe his active, as well as pas- sive obedience, to be wholly upon our account.

And now I speak of Christ's being our surety, as the apostle calls him, Heb. vii. 22. methinks this gives much light to the truth in hand : for, what is a surety, but one that undertakes to pay whatsoever he, whose surety he is, is bound to pay, in case the debtor proves nonsolvent, or unable to pay it himself? And thus is Christ, under the notion of a surety, bound to pay whatever we owe to God, because we ourselves are not able to pay it in our own persons.

Now, there are two things that we owe to God, which this our surety is bound to pay for us, viz. First, and prin- cipally, obedience to his laws, as he is our Creator and governor ; and, secondly, by consequence, the punish- ment that is annexed to the breach of these laws, of which we are guilty. Now, though Christ should pay the latter part of our debt for us, by bearing the punishment that is due unto us ; yet, if he did not pay the former and prin- cipal part of it too, i. e. perform the obedience which we owe to God, he would not fully have performed the office of suretyship, which he undertook for us ; and so would be but a half-mediator, or half-saviour, which are such words as I dare scarce pronounce, for fear of blasphemy. So that, though it is the death of Christ by which I be-

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. #7

lieve my sins are pardoned ; yet it is the life of Christ, by which I believe my person is accepted. His passion God accounts as suffered by me, and therefore I shall not die for sin : his obedience God accounts as performed by me, and therefore I shall live with him. Not if as [ believed, that Christ so performed obedience for me, that I should be discharged from my duty to him : but only that 1 should not be condemned by God, in not discharging my duty to him in so strict a manner, as is required. I believe that the active obedience of Christ will stand me in no stead, unless I endeavour after sincere obedience in my own person ; his active, as well as his passive obedience, being imputed unto none, but only to such as apply it to them- selves by faith ; which faith in Christ will certainly put such as are possessed of it upon obedience unto God. This, therefore, is the righteousness, and the manner of that justi- fication, whereby I hope to stand before the judgment-seat of God ; even by God's imputing my sins to Christ, and Christ's righteousness to me ; looking upon me as one not to be punished for my sins, because Christ hath suffered, but to be received into the joys of glory, because Christ hath performed obedience for me, and does, by faith, through grace, impute it to me.

And thus it is into the merit of Christ that I resolve the whole work of my salvation ; and this, not only, as to that which is wrought without me, for the justification of my person, but likewise as to what is wrought within me for the sanctification of my nature. As I cannot have a sin pardoned without Christ, so neither can I have a sin subdued without him ; neither the fire of God's wrath can be quenched, nor yet the filth of my sins washed away, but by the blood of Christ.

So that I wonder as much at the doctrine that some men have advanced concerning free-will, as I do at that which others have broached in favour of good works ; and it is a mystery to me, how any that ever had experience of Jtipd's method in working out sin, and planting grace in our hearts, should think they can do it by themselves, or any thing in order to it. Not that I do in the least question, but that every man may be saved that will ; (for this, I believe, is a real truth) but I do not believe, that any man of himself can will to be saved. Wheresoever God en- ables a soul effectually to will salvation, he will certainly give salvation to that soul ; but I believe, it is as impossi- ble for my soul to will salvation of itself, as to enjoy salva- tion without God.

6S THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.

And this my faith is not grounded upon a roving fancy, but the most solid reasons ; forasmuch as, of ourselves, we are not able, in our understandings, to discern the evil from the good, much less then, are we able, in our wills, to prefer the good before the evil ; the will never settling upon any thing, but what the judgment discovers to it. But now, that my natural judgment is unable to apprehend and represent to my will the true and only good under its proper notion, my own too sad experience would sufficiently persuade me, though I had neither scripture nor reason for it. And yet the scripture also is so clear in this point, that I could not have denied it, though I should never have had any experience of it ; the Most High expressly telling me, that the natural man re- cciveth not the things of the spirit of God, for they are fool- ishness to him ; neither can he hioiv them, because they are spiritually discerned, 1 Cor. ii. 14. Neither can he know them, i. e. There is an absolute impossibility in it, that any one remaining in his natural principles, without the assist- ance of God, should apprehend or conceive the excellency of spiritual objects. So that a man may as soon read the letter of the scripture without eyes, as understand the mysteries of the gospel without grace. And this is not at all to be wondered at ; especially, if we consider the vast and infinite disproportion betwixt the object and the facul- ty ; the object to be apprehended being nothing less than the best of beings, God : and the faculty whereby we ap- prehend it, nothing more than the power of a finite crea- ture polluted with the worst of evils, sin.

So that I believe it a thousand times easier for a worm, a fly, or any other despicable insect whatsoever, to understand the affairs of men, than for the best of men in a natural state to apprehend the things of God. No ; there is none can know God, nor, by consequence, any thing that is really good, but only so far as they are partakers of the divr^e nature : we must, in some measure, be like to God, before we can have any true conceptions of him, or be really delighted with him : we must have a spiritual sight, before we can behold spiritual things ; which every natu- ral man being destitute of, he can see no comeliness in Christ, why he should be desired ; nor any amiableness in religion, why it should be embraced.

And hence it is, that I believe, the first work that God puts forth upon the soul in order to its conversion, is, to raise up a spiritual light within it, to clear up its appre-

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 6^

hensions about spiritual matters, so as to enable the soul to look upon God as the chiefest good, and the enjoyment of him as the greatest bliss ; whereby the soul may clearly discern between good and evil, and evidently perceive, that nothing is good, but so far as it is like to God ; and no- thing evil, but so far as it resembles sin.

But this is not all the work that God hath to do upon a sinful soul, to bring it to himself; for though I must con- fess that in natural things, the will always follows the ulti- mate dictates of the understanding, so as to choose and em- brace what the understanding represents to it, under the comely dress of good and amiable, and to refuse and abhor whatever, under the same representation, appears to be evil and dangerous ; I say, though I must confess, it is so m natural, yet I believe, it is not so in spiritual matters. For, though the understanding may have never such clear apprehensions of spiritual good, yet the will is not at all af- fected with it, without the joint operations of the grace of God upon us ; all of us too sadly experiencing what St. Paul long ago bewailed in himself, that what we do, wc allow not, Rom. vii. 15. that though our judgments con- demn what we do, yet we cannot choose but do it ; though our understandings clearly discover to us the excellence^ grace and glory, yet our wills overpowered with their own corruptions, are strangely hurried into sin and misery, I must confess, it is a truth which I should scarcely have ever believed, if I had not such daily experience of *it; but alas ! there is scarce an hour in the day, but I may <r0 about lamenting, with Medea in Seneca, Video mcliwa, proboque ; deieriora seqnor ; though I see what is good, yea, and judge it to be the better, yet I very often choose the worse.

And the reason of it is, because, as by our fall from God, the whole soul was desperately corrupted ; so it is not the rectifying of one faculty, which can make the whole straight ; but as the whole was changed from ho- liness to sin, so must the whole be changed again from sin to holiness, before it can be inserted into a state of grace, or so much as an act of grace to be exerted by it.

Now, therefore, the understanding and will being two distinct faculties, or, at least two distinct acts in the souk it is impossible for the understanding to be so enlightened, as to prefer the good before the evil, and yet for the will to remain so corrupt, as to choose the evil before the good. And hence it is, that where God intends to work over a

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soul to himself, he doth not only pass an enlightening act upon the understanding and its apprehensions, but like- wise a sancifying act upon the will and its affections, that when the soul perceives the glory of God, and the beauty of holiness, it may presently close with, and entertain it with the choicest of its affections. And without God's thus drawing it, the understanding could never allure the soul to good.

And therefore it is, that for all the clear discoveries which the understanding may make to itself concerning the glo- ries of the invisible world, yet God assures us, it is him- self alone that effects the soul with them, by inclining its will to them : for it is God which workelh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure, Phil. ii. 13. So that, though God offer heaven to all that will accept of it, in the holy scriptures ; yet none can accept of it, but such whom him- self stirs up by his holy Spirit to endeavour after it. And thus we find it was in Israel's return from Babylon to Je- rusalem, though king Cyrus made a proclamation, that whosoever would might go up to worship at the holy city, Ezra i. 3. yet there was none that accepted of the offer, but those whose spirit God had raised to go up, ver. 5. So here, though God doth, as it were, proclaim to all the world, that whosoever will come to Christ shall certainly be saved, yet it doth not follow, that all shall receive sal- vation from him, because it is certain all will not come ; or rather, none can will to come unless God enable him.

I am sure, to say none shall be saved, but those that will of themselves, would be sad news for me, whose will is naturally so backward to every thing that is good. But this is my comfort, I am as certain, my salvation is of God, as I am certain it cannot be of myself. It is Christ who vouchsafed to die for me, who hath likewise promised to live within me : it is he that will work all my works, both for me and in me too. In a word, it is to him I am be- holden, not only for my spiritual blessings and enjoy- ments, but even for my temporal ones too, which, in and through his .name, I daily put up my petitions for. So that I have not so much as a morsel of bread, in mercy, from God, but only upon the account of Christ ; not a drop of drink, but what flows to me in his blood. It is he that is the very blessing of all my blessings, without whom my very mercies would prove but curses, and my prosperity would but work my ruin.

" Whither, therefore, should I go, my dear and bles-

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u sed Saviour, but unto thee ? Thou hast the words ofeter- " nal life. And how shall I come, but by thee ? Thou " hast the treasures of all grace. O thou, that hast " wrought out my salvation for me, be pleased likewise to " work this salvation in me ; give me, I beseech thee, " such a measure of thy grace, as to believe in thee here " upon earth : and then give me such degrees of glory, as ee fully to enjoy thee for ever in heaven."

ARTICLE IX.

I believe God entered into a double covenant with man, the covenant of works made with the first ', and the covenant of grace made in the second Adam.

np HAT the most high God should take a piece of earth, -*- work it up into the frame and fashion of a man, and breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, and then should enter into a covenant with it, and should say, Do this and live, when man was bound to do it, whether he could live by it or no, was without doubt, a great and amazing act of love and condescension > but that, when this cove- nant was unhappily broken by the first, God should in- stantly vouchsafe to renew it in the second Adam ; and that too upon better terms, and more easy conditions than the former, was yet a more surprising mercy : for the same day that Adam eat the forbidden fruit did God make him this promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, Gen. hi. 15. And this promise he afterwards explained and confirmed by the mouth of his prophet Jere- miah, saying, This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days ; I will put my law into their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people, Jer. xxxi. 33. And again, by St. Paul under the New Testament, almost in the self-same words, Heb. viii. 10.

A covenant so gracious and condescending, that it seems to be made up of nothing else but promises. The first was, properly speaking, a covenant of works, requiring on man's part a perfect and unsinning obedience, without any extraordinary grace or assistance from God to enable him to perform it ; but here, in the second, God under- takes both for himself and for man too, having digested the conditions to be performed by us, into promises, to be fulfilled by himself, viz. that he will not only pardon our

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sins, if we do repent, but that he will give us repentance, that so we may deserve Ins pardon • that he will not only give us life, if we come to Christ, but even draw us to Christ, that so he may give us life ; and so not only make us happy, if we will be holy, but make us holy, that so we may be happy : for the covenant is, not that he will be our God, if we will be his people, but he will be our God, and we shall be his people. But still, all this is in and through Christ, the surety and mediator of this cove- nant, in whom all the promises are yea and amen, 2 Cor. i. 20. so that Christ may be looked upon, not only as a surety, but as a party in this covenant of grace, being not only bound to God, but likewise covenanting with him for us. As God-man, he is a surety for us, but as man he must needs be a party with us, even our head in the cove- nant of grace, as Adam was in the covenant of works.

What therefore, though I can do nothing in this cove- nant of myself? yet this is my comfort, that he hath un- dertaken for me, who can do all things. And therefore it is called a covenant of grace, and not of works, because in it there is no work required from me, but what, by grace, I shall be enabled to perform.

And as for the tenor in which this Covenant runs, or the Habendum and grant which each party covenants for, it is expressed in these words, / will be your God, and you shall be my people; God covenants with us, that we shall be his peo- ple, we covenant with God, that lie shall be our God. And what can God stipulate more to us, or we stipulate more to him than this ? What doth not God promise to us, when he promises to be our God ? and what doth he not require from us, when he requires us to be his people.

First, He doth not say, I will be your hope, your help, your light, your life, your sun, your shield, and your ex- ceeding great reward ; but I will be your God, which is ten thousand times more than possibly can be couched un- der any other expressions whatsoever, as containing under it whatsoever God is, whatsoever God hath, and whatso- ever God can do. All his essential attributes are still en- gaged for us ; we may lay claim to them, and take hold on them : So that what the prophet saith of his righteous- ness and strength, surely shall one say, in the Lord have J righteousness and strength, Isa. xiv. 24. I may extend to all his other attributes, and say, surely in the Lord have I mer- cy to pardon me, wisdom to instruct me, power to protect me, truth to direct me, grace to crown my heart on earth,

THOUGHTS ON RELIGION. 13

and glory to crown my head in heaven : and, if what he is, then much more what he hath, is here made over by covenant to me. He that spared not his own Son, saith the apostle, but delivered him up for us all ; how shall he not but with him likewise freely give us all things ? Rom. viii. 32. But what hath God to give me? Why, all that he hath is briefly summed up in this short inventory ; what- soever is in heaven above, or the earth beneath, is his ; and that this inventory is true, I have several witnesses to prove it, Melchizedec, Gen. xiv. 19- and Moses, Deut. x. 14. and David, 1 Chron. xxix. 11. Indeed, reason it- self will conclude this, that he that is the Creator and Pre- server, must, of necessity, be the owner and possessor of all things ; so that let me imagine what possibly I can in all the world, I may with the pen of reason write under it, this is God's ; and if I take but the pen of faith with it, I may write, this is mine in Jesus Christ.

As for example ; hath he a Son ? He hath died for me. Hath he a Spirit ? It shall live within me. Is earth his ? It shall be my provision. Is heaven his ? It shall be my portion. Hath he angels ? They shall guard me. Hath he comforts ? They shall support me. Hath he grace ? That shall make me holy. Hath he glory? That shall make me happy, For the Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from those that walk up- rightly, Psal.lxxxiv.il.

And as he is nothing but what he is unto us, so he doth nothing but what he doth for us. So that whatsoever God doth by his ordinary providence, or (if our necessity re- quires) whatsoever he can do by his extraordinary power, I may be sure, he doth and will do for me. Now he hath given himself to me, and taken me unto himself, what will he not do for me that he can ? And what can he not do for me that he will ? Do I want food ? God can dron down manna from the clouds, Exod. xvi. 4. or bid the quails come down and feed me with their own flesh, as they did the Israelites, ver. 13. or he can send the ravens to bring me bread and flesh, as they did the prophet Eli- jah, 1 Kings xvh. 6. Am I thirsty ? God can broach the rocks, and dissolve the flints into floods of water as he did for Israel, Deut. vii. 25. Am I cast into a fiery furnace ? he can suspend the fury of the raging flames, as he did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Dan. hi. 23. Am I thrown among the devouring lions ? he can stop their mouths, and make them as harmless as lambs, as he did

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for Daniel, Dan. vi. 22. Am I ready to be swallowed up by the merciless waves of the tempestuous ocean ? God can command a fish to come and ship me safe to land, and that in its own belly, as he did for his prophet Jonah, Jo- nah ii. 10. Am I in prison ? God can speak the word, as he did for St. Peter, and the chains shall immediately fall off, and the doors fly open, and I shall be set at liberty, as he was, Acts xii. j, 8, 9, 10. And thus I can have no wants, but God can supply them, no doubts, but God can resolve them, no fears, but God can dispel them, no dan- gers, but God can prevent them. And it is as certain that he will, as that he can, do these things for me, himself having, by covenant, engaged and given himself unto me.

And as, in God's giving himself, he hath given whatso- ever he is, and whatsoever he hath unto me, and will do whatsoever he can do for me ; so in my giving myself to him, whatsoever I have I am to give to him, and whatso- ever I do I am to do for him. But now, though we should thus wholly give up ourselves to God, and do whatsoever he requires of us (which none, I fear, without some de- gree of presumption, can say he has done) yet there is an infinite disproportion between the grant on God's part, and that on ours, in that he is God, and we but creatures, the workmanship of hisoivn hands, to whom it was our duty to give ourselves, whether he had ever given himself to us or no : he is ours by covenant only, not by nature ; we are his both by covenant and nature too.

Hence we may infer, that it is not only our duty to do what he hath commanded us, because he hath said, Do this and live ; but because he hath said, Do this ; yea, though he should say, Do this and die, it would still be our duty to do it, because we are his, wholly of his mak- ing, and therefore wholly at his disposing ; insomuch that should he put me upon the doing that which would inevi- tably bring ruin upon me, I am not to neglect obeying him for fear of destroying myself, his will and pleasure being infinitely to be preferred before my life and salvation.

But, if it were my duty to obey his commands, though I should die for it, how much more3 when he hath pro- mised, I shall live by it ? nay, I shall not only live, if I obey him, but my obedience itself shall be my life and happiness ; for if I be obedient unto him, he is pleased to account himself as glorified by me : for herein is my Fa- ther glorified, if ye bring forth mueh fruit, John xv. 8. Now, what greater glory can possibly be desired, than to

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glorify my Maker ? How can I be more glorified by God than to have God glorified by me ; it is the glory of God to glorify himself; and what a higher glory can a creature aspire after, than that which is the infinite glory of its all- glorious Creator ? It is not, therefore, my duty only, but my glory to give myself, and whatsoever I am, unto him, io glorify him both in my body and in my spirit which arc his% 1 Cor. vi. 20. to lay out whatsoever I have for him, io ho- nour him with all my substance, Prov. iii. 9. and whether I eat or drink, or whatsoever I do, to do all to his glory, 1 Cor. x. 31. Not as if it wras possible for God to receive more glory from me now, than he had in himself from all eterni- ty. No : he was infinitely glorious then, and it is impos- sible for him to be more glorious now ; all that we can do, is duly to acknowledge that glory which he hath in him- self, and to manifest it, as we ought, before others ; which, though it be no addition to his glory, yet it is the perfection of ours, which he is pleased to account as his.

As for the grant, therefore, in the covenant of grace ; I believe it to be the same on our parts, with that in the co- venant of works, i. e. That we Christians are as much bound to obey the commands he lays upon us now, as the Jews under the old covenant were. What difference there is, is wholly and solely on God's part ; who, instead of expecting obedience from us, is pleased, in this new cove- nant, to give this obedience to us. Instead of saying, Do this and live, he hath, in effect, said, I will enable you to do this, that so you may live. I will put my laws into your minds, and write them in your hearts ; and I will be to you a God, and you shall be to me a people, Heb. viii. 10. Not, I will, if you will, but I will, and you shall. Not, if you will do this, you shall live, but, you shall do this, and live. So that God doth not require less from us, but only hath promised more to us, in the newT, than he did in the old covenant. There, we were to perform obedience to God ; but it was by our own strength : here, we are to perform the same obedience still ; but it is by his strength. Nay, as we have more obligations to obedience upon us now, than we had before, by reason of God's expressing more grace and favour to us than formerly he did ; so I believe God expects more from us, under the new, than he did under the old covenant. In that, he expected the obedience of men ; in this, he expects the obedience of Christians, such as are by faith united unto Christ, and, D 2

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in Christ, unto himself; and so are to do what they do, not by the strength of man, as before, but by the strength of the eternal God himself; who, as he at first created me for himself, so he hath now purchased me to himself, re- ceived me into covenant with him, and promised to en- able me with grace to perform that obedience he requires from me ; and, therefore, he now expects I should lay out myself, even whatsoever I have or I am, wholly for him and his glory.

This, therefore, being the tenor of this covenant of grace, it follows, that I am none of my own, but wholly God's : I am his by creation, and his by redemption, and, therefore, ought to be his by conversion. Why, there- fore, should I live any longer to myself, who am not my own, but God's ? And why should I grudge to give my- self to him, who did not grudge to give himself for me ? or rather, Why should I steal myself from him, who have already given myself to him ? But did I say, I have given myself to my God? Alas ! it is but the restoring myself to him, whose I was ever since I had a being, and to whom I am still infinitely more engaged, than I can thus cordi- ally engage myself to him ; for, as I am not my own, but his, so the very giving of myself to him, is not from my- self, but from him. I could not have given myself to him, had he not first given himself to me, and even wrought my mind into this resolution of giving myself to him.

But, having thus solemnly by covenant given myself to him, how doth it behove me to improve myself for him ; my soul is his, my body his, my parts his, my gifts his, my graces his, and whatsoever is mine, is his ; for, with- out him I could not have been, and therefore could have had nothing. So that I have no more cause to be proud of any thing I have, or am, than a page hath to be proud of his fine clothes, which are not his, but his master's; who bestows all his finery upon him, not for his page's ho- nour or credit, but for his own.

And thus it is with the best of us, in respect of God ; he gives men parts and learning, and riches and grace, and desires and expects that we should make a due use of them: but to what end ? Not to gain honour and esteem to our- selves, and make us proud and haughty ; but to give him the honour due to his name, and so employ them as in- struments in promoting his glory and service. So that, whensoever Ave do not lay out ourselves to the utmost of our power for him, it is downright sacrilege ; it is robbing

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God of that which is more properly his, than any man in the world can call any thing he hath his own.

Having, therefore, thus wholly surrendered and given up myself to God, so long as it shall please his majesty to entrust me with myself, to lend me my being in the lower world, or to put any thing else into my hands, as time, health, strength, parts, or the like ; I am resolved, by his grace, to lay out all for his glory. All the faculties of my soul, as I have given them to him, so will I endeavour to improve them for him ; they shall still be at his most no- ble service ; my understanding shall be his, to know him ; my will his, to choose him ; my affections his, to embrace him : and all the members of my body shall act in sub- serviency to him.

And thus, having given myself to God on earth, I hope God in a short time will take me to himself in heaven : where, as I give my self to him in time, he will give him- self to me unto all eternity.

ARTICLE X.

/ believe, that as God entered into a covenant of grace with us, so hath he signed this covenant to us by a double seal, baptism and the Lord's supper.

\ S the covenant of works had two sacraments, viz. the *£*- tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil; the first signifying and sealing life and happiness to the performance, the other death and misery to the breach of it : so the covenant of grace was likewise sealed with two typical sacraments, circumcision and the passover. The former was annexed at God's first making his covenant with Abraham's person ; the other was added, at his ful- filling the promises of it, to his seed or posterity, which were therefore styled, the promised seed. But these being only typical of the true and spiritual sacraments, that were afterwards to take place upon the coming of the Messiah, there were then, in the fulness of time, two other sacraments substituted in their stead, viz. baptism and the supper of the Lord. And these sacraments were both correspondent to the types by which they were represented.

As to the first, viz. Circumcision, whether I consider the time of conferring it, or the end of its institution, I find it exactly answers to the sacrament of baptism in both these respects. For, as the children under the law were to be circumcised in their infancy, at eight days old; so are D 3

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the children under the gospel to be baptized in their infan- cy too. And as the principal thing intended in the rite of circumcision, was to initiate or admit the children of the faithful into the Jewish church ; so the chief -design of baptism now, is to admit the children of such as profess themselves Christians, into the church of Christ. And, for this reason, I believe, that as, under the Old Testa- ment, children had the grant of covenant privileges, and church-membership, as really as their parents had ; so this grant was not repealed, as is intimated, Acts ii. 39. but farther confirmed in the New Testament, in that the apostle calls the children of believing parents holy, 1 Cor. xii. 14. Which cannot be understood of a real and inhe- rent, but only of a relative and covenanted holiness, by virtue of which, being born of believing parents, them- selves are accounted in the number of believers, and are therefore called holy children under the gospel, in the same sense that the people of Israel were called a holy people under the law, Deut. vii. 6. and xiv. 2, 21. as be- ing all within the covenant of grace, which, through the faith of their parents, is thus sealed to them in baptism.

Not that I think it necessary, that all parents should be endued with what we call a saving faith, to entitle their children to these privileges (for then none but the chil- dren of such who have the Spirit of Christ truly implanted in them, would be qualified to partake of the covenant) but even such, who by an outward historical faith have taken the name of Christ upon them, are by that means in covenant with God, and so accounted holy in respect of their profession, whatever they may be in point of prac- tice. And if they are themselves holy, it follows of course, that their children must be so too, they being esteemed as parts of their parents, till made distinct mem- bers in the body of Christ, or, at least, till they come to the use of their reason, and the improvement of their na- tural abilities.

And therefore, though the seal be changed, yet the co- venant privileges, wherewith the parties stipulating unto God were before invested, are no whit altered or dimi- nished ; believers' children being as really confederates with their parents, in the covenant of grace now, as they were before under the Jewish administration of it. And this seems to be altogether necessary ; for otherwise, in- fants should be invested with privileges under the type, and be deprived of, or excluded from them, under the

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more perfect accomplishment of the same covenant in the thing typified ; and so the dispensations of God's grace would be more strait and narrow since, than they were before the coming of our Saviour, which I look upon to be no less than blasphemy to assert.

And, upon this ground, I believe, it is as really the duty of Christians to baptize their children now, as ever it was the duty of the Israelites to circumcise theirs ; and therefore St. Peter's question, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, who luive received the Holy Ghost as well as we c4 Acts x. 47- may very properly be applied to this case. Can any man forbid water, that chil- dren should not be baptized, who are in covenant with the most high God as well as we ? For what is it, I pray, that the right to baptism doth depend upon ? Surely, not upon performing the conditions of the covenant ; for then none shall be baptized, but such as are true believers in them- selves, and known to be so by us, and, by consequence, none at all ; it being only God's prerogative to search their hearts, and to know the truth of that grace, which him- self hath been pleased to bestow upon them. But chil- dren's right to baptism is grounded upon the outward pro- fession of their believing parents ; so that as a king may be crowned in his cradle, not because he is able to weild the sceptre, or manage the affairs of his kingdom, but because he is heir to his father : so here, children are not therefore baptized because they are able to perform the conditions of the covenant, which is sealed to them, but because they are children to believing parents. And this seems yet to be farther evident, from the very nature of seals, which are not administered or annexed to any covenant, because the conditions are already performed, but rather that they may be performed ; and so children are not baptized be- cause they are already true Christians, but that they may be so hereafter.

As for a command for infant baptism, I believe, that the same law that enjoined circumcision to the Jewish, enjoins baptism likewise to Christian children, there being the same reason for both. The reason why the Jewish chil- dren were to be circumcised, was because they were Jew- ish children, bom of such as professed the true worship of God, and were in covenant with him ; and there is the same reason why Christian children are to be baptized, even because they are Christian children, born of such as profess the true worship of the same God, and are confe- D 4

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derates in the same covenant with the Jews themselves. And, as there is the same reason, so likewise the same end for both, viz. That the children might be actually admit- ted into the same covenant with their parents, and have it visibly confirmed to them by this initiating seal put upon them : so that circumcision and baptism are not two dis- tinct seals, but the same seal diversely applied ; the one being but as a type of the other, and so to give place to it, whensoever, by the institution of Christ, it should be brought into the church of God. And therefore, the com- mand for initiating children into the church by baptism, remains still in force, though circumcision, which was the type and shadow of it, be done away. And for this rea- l believe, that was there never a command in the Sev; Testament for infant baptism, yet, seeing there is one for circumcision in the Old, and for baptism, as com- ing into the place of it, in the New, I should bok upon baptism as necessarily to be applied to infants now, as cir- cumcision was then.

But why should it be supposed, that there is no com- mand in the New Testament for infant baptism ? There are several texts that seem to imply its hieing jeiwactiaed in the first preaching of the gosrjet, as particularly in \'<\e case of Lydia and the keeper of the prison, Acts xvi. 15, 33. who had their whole families baptized, and we no where nnd that children were excepted. On the contrary, St, Peter exhorting the converted Jews to be baptized, makes use of this argument to bring them to it, For the promise, says he, is unto you and to your children, Acts ii. 38, 39- which may as reasonably be understood of their infants, as of their adult posterity. But, besides, it was the express command of Christ to his disciples, that they should go, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Fa- ther, Son, ami Holy Ghost, Matt, xxviii. ip. The mean- ing of which words I take to be this ; go ye, and preach the gospel among all nations, and endeavour thereby to bring them over to the embracing of it ; that leaving all Jewish ceremonies and heathenish idolatries, they may profess my name, and become my disciples, receive the truth, and follow me ; which if they do, I charge you to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; for the word Matheteu.mte doth not signify to teach, but to make disciples, denoting the same here, that mathe- taspoiein doth upon the like occasion, John iv. 1.

And this is the sense that all the ancient translations

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agree in : nor, indeed, will the text itself bear any other • especially, not that of teaching ; for though the apostles should have taught all nations, yet they were not present- ly to baptize them unless they became disciples, and pro- fessors of the doctrine that they were taught. A man may be taught the doctrine of the gospel, and yet not believe it ; and even though he should believe, yet unless he open- ly profess his faith in it, he ought not presently to be bap- tized. For, without this outward profession, the very professing of Christ cannot entitle a man to this privilege before men, though it doth before God ; because we can- not know how any one stands affected towards Christ, but only by his outward profession of him. It is the inward profession of Christ's person that entitles us to the inward spiritual grace: but it is the outward profession of his name only, that entitles us to the outward visible sign in baptism : so that a man must, of necessity, be a profess- ed disciple of the gospel, before he can be admitted into the church of Christ. And hence it is, that the words must necessarily be understood of discipling, or bringing the nations over to the profession of the Christian religion ; or else we must suppose, what ought not to be granted, that our Saviour must command many that were visible enemies to his cross, to be received into his church ; for many of the Jews were taught and instructed in the doc- trine of the gospel, who, notwithstanding, were invete- rate enemies unto Christ. They were taught that he was the Messiah, and saviour of the world, and that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life; and they had all the reason in the world to be convinced of it : yet, I hope, there is none will say, that the bare knowledge of, or tacit assent unto, these things, are a suf- ficient ground for their reception into the church.

Now, as it was in the Jewish church, when any one became a proselyte, not only himself, but whatsoever chil- dren he had, were to be circumcised ; so in the church of Christ, whensoever any person is brought over into the profession of the Christian religion, his seed are equally invested with the outward privileges of it with himself though they be not as yet come to years of discretion, nor able, of themselves, to make their profession of that reli- gion they are to be received and baptized into. For, so long as children are in their infancy, they are (as I before observed) looked upon as parts of their parents, and are therefore accounted holy, by the outward profession which D 5

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their parents, under whom they are comprehended, make of it; and in this sense, 1 Cor. viii. 14. the unbelieving hus- band is said to be sanctified by the believing wife, and the un- believing wife by the believing husband, that is, man and wife being made one flesh, they are denominated, from the better part holy, and so are their children too.

And hence it is, that I verily believe, that in the com- mission which our Saviour gave to his apostles, to disciple and baptize all nations, he meant, that they should preach the gospel in all nations, and thereby bring over all per- sons of understanding and discretion to the profession of his name, and in them, their children ; and to engraft both root and branch into himself, the true vine, by bap- tizing both parents and children in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

The main objection against this is, that infants are not in a capacity either to learn and understand their duty in this covenant, or to stipulate and promise for their future performance of the conditions of it. But this difficulty is easily removed, when I consider, that it is not by virtue of their own faith and knowledge, but that of their pa- rents, that they are admitted to this sacrament ; nor is it required, that they should stipulate or promise in their own persons, but by their god-fathers or sponsors, who enter into this engagement for them, and oblige them, when they come to age, to take it upon themselves ; which ac- cordingly they do. And this engagement by proxy, does as effectually bind them to the performance of the condi- tions, as if they were actually in a capacity to have stipu- lated for themselves, or sealed the covenant in their own persons. For these spiritual signs or seals are not design- ed to make God's word surer to us, but only to make our faith stronger in him ; nor are they of the substance of the covenant, but only for the better confirmation of it.

And, as baptism thus comes in the place of the Jews' circumcision, so doth our Lord's supper answer to their passover. Their paschal lamb represented our Saviour Christ, and the sacrificing it the shedding of his blood upon the cross ; and as the passover was the memorial of the Israelites' redemption from Egypt's bondage, Exod. xii. 14. so is the Lord's supper the memorial of our re- demption from the slavery of sin, and assertion into Chris- tian liberty ; or rather, it is a solemn and lively represen- tation of the death of Christ and offering it again to God3 as an atonement for sin, and reconciliation to his favour.

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. So that, 1 believe, this sacrament of the Lord's supper under the gospel, succeeds to the rite of sacrificing under the law ; and is properly called the Christian sacrifice, as representing the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. And the end of both is the same : for, as the sacrifices under the law were designed as a propitiation or atonement for sins, by transferring the punishment from the offerer to the thing offered, which is therefore called the accursed thing, as we read, Lev. xvii. 11. So, under the gospel, we are told, that it was for this end that our Saviour died, and suffered in our stead, that he might obtain the pardon of our sins, and reconcile us to his Father, by laying the guilt of them upon his own person. And accordingly, he says of himself, that he came to give his life a ransom for many, Matt. xx. 28. And St. Paul tells us, 2 Cor. v. 21. that he was made sin for us, who knew no sin.

And as the end of both institutions was the same, so they were both equally extended. The paschal lamb was ordered for all the congregation of Israel, and so is the sa- crament of the Lord's supper to be administered to all the faithful people in Christ, that do not exclude themselves from it. And for this reason, I believe, that as all the congregation of Israel was to eat the passover, so is all the society of Christians to receive the Lord's supper ; those only to be excepted, who are altogether ignorant of the nature of that covenant it seals, or openly and scandalous- ly guilty of the breach of the conditions it requires.

But why, say some, should there be any exception ? Did not Christ die for all mankind ? And is not that death said to be a, full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world ? All this is true, but it does not from hence follow, that all men must be actually saved and absolved from their sins, by virtue of his death. No, it is only they, who apply to themselves the merit of his passion, by partaking duly of this holy- sacrament, which is the proper means by which these bles- sings are conveyed to us, whereby we are sealed to the day if redemption. I say, duly, because though this sacrament was ordained for all, yet all will not make themselves wor- thy of it ; and those that are not so, are so far from reap- ing any benefit from it, that, as the apostle says, they eat and drink their own damnation, not discerning the Lo?-d's body, 1 Cor. xi. 29. And therefore/ I believe, that' as in the in- stitution of the passover there were some particular duties and ceremonies enjoined for the better solemnization of it ; D 6

84 THOUGHTS ON RELIGION.