to perfuade them to be all this: let any man, I fay, fhew me fuch a book, and I will lay afide the fcripture, and preach out of that.

And do we not all profefs to be of this excellent religion, and to ftudy and believe this holy book of the fcriptures? But, alas! who will believe that we do so, that fhall look upon the actions, and confider the lives of the greatest part of Chriftians? How grofsly and openly do many of us contradict the plain precepts of the gofpel, by our ungodlinefs and wordly lufts, by living intemperately, or unjustly, or profanely in this prefent world? as if the grace of God which brings falvation had never appeared to us; as if we had never heard of heaven or hell, or believed not one word that the fcripture fays concerning them; as if we were in no expectation of the bleed hope, and the glorious appearance of the great God, and our Saviour Jefus Chrift; whom God hath appointed to judge the world in righteousness, and who will bestow mighty rewards upon those who faithfully ferve him; but will come in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jefus Chrift.

Let us not then deceive ourselves by pretending to this excellent knowledge of Chrift Jefus our Lord, if we do not frame our lives according to it. For though we know those things never fo well, yet we are not happy unless we do them: nay, we are but the more miferable for knowing them, if we do them not. Therefore it concerns every one of us to confider feriously what we believe, and whether our belief of the Chriftian religion have its due effect upon our lives. If not, all the precepts, and promifes, and threatenings of the gospel, wilk rife up in judgment against us, and the articles of our faith will be fo many articles of accufation: and the great weight of our charge will be this, that we did not obey that gofpel which we profeffed to believe; that we made confeffion of the Chriftian faith, but lived like Heathens.' Not to believe the Chriftian religion, after fo great evidence and confirmation as God hath given to it, is ve ry unreasonable; but to believe it to be true, and yet to live as if it were falfe, is the greatest repugnancy and contradiction that can be. He that does not believe Christianity

K 2

Christianity, either hath, or thinks he hath fome reason for with-holding his affent from it: but he that believes it, and yet lives contrary to it, knows that he hath no reafon for what he does, and is convinced that he ought to do otherwife. And he is a miferable man indeed, that does thofe things, for the doing of which he continually ftands condemned by his own mind. And accordingly God will deal more feverely with fuch perfons. He will pardon a thoufand defects in our understandings, if they do not proceed from grofs carelcffnefs and neglect of ourfelves: but the faults of our wills have no excufe; because we knew to do better, and were convinced in our minds that we ought not to have done fo.

Doft thou believe, that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, and unrighteoufnefs of men? and doft thou ftill allow thyfelf in ungodliness and worldly lufts? Art thou convinced that without holiness no man fhall fee the Lord? and doft thou ftill perfift in a wicked courfe? Art thou fully perfuaded that no whoremonger, nor adulterer, nor covetous, nor unrighteous perfon, fhall have any inheritance in the kingdom of God and Chrift? and doft thou for all that continue to practise thefe vices? What canft thou fay, man, why it should not be to thee according to thy faith? If it fo fall out, that thou art miferable, and undone for ever, thou haft no reason to be furprised, as if fome unexpected thing had happened to thee. It is but with thee juft as thou believedft it would be when thou didst thefe things. For how couldft thou expect that God fhould accept of thy good belief, when thou didst fo notoriously contradict it by a bad life? How couldft thou look for other, but that God fhould condemn thee for the doing of those things for which thine own confcience did condemn thee all the while thou waft doing of them? • When we come into the other world, there is no confideration that will fting our confciences more cruelly than this, that we did wickedly when we knew to have done better, and chofe to make ourselves miferable when we understood the way to have been happy. To conclude, we Chriftians have certainly the beft and the holicft, the wifest and most reasonable religion in the world; but then we are in the worst condition of all mankind,

mankind, if the best religion in the world do not make us good.

SERMON VI.

The precepts of Christianity not grievous.

I JOHN V. 3.

-And his commandments are not grievous.

NE of the great prejudices which men have entertained against the Chriftian religion, is this, that it lays upon men heavy burthens, and grievous to be borne; that the laws of it are very strict and fevere, difficult to be kept, and yet dangerous to be broken; that it requires us to govern and keep under our paffions, and to contradict many times our ftrongest inclinations and defires; to cut off our right hand, and to pluck out our right eye; to love our enemies, to blefs them that curfe us, to do good to them that hate us, and to pray for them that defpitefully ufe us and perfecute us; to forgive the greatest injuries that are done to us, and to make reparation for the leaft that we do to others; to be contented with our condition, patient under fufferings, and ready to facrifice our dearest interests in this world, and even our very lives, in the cause of God and religion. All these feem to be hard fayings, and grie-· vous commandments.

For the removal of this prejudice, I have chofen these words of the Apostle, which exprefsly tell us the contrary, that the commandments of God are not grievous.

And though this be a great truth, if it be impartially confidered; yet it is alfo a great paradox to men of corrupt minds and vitious practices, who are prejudiced against religion, and the holy laws of God, by their intereft and their lufts. This fecms a ftrange propofition to those who look upon religion at a distance, and ne

ver tried the experiment of a holy life; who measure the laws of God, not by the intrinfical goodnefs and equity of them, but by the reluctancy and oppofition which they find in their own hearts against them.

Upon this account it will be requifite to take fome pains to fatisfy the reason of men concerning this truth; and, if it be poffible, to make it fo evident, that those who are unwilling to own it, may yet be afhamed to deny it. And methinks I have this peculiar advantage in the argument I have now undertaken, that every reasonable man cannot chufe but wifh me fuccefs in this attempt; because I undertake the proof of that which it is every man's intereft that it fhould be true: and if I can make it out, this pretence against religion will not only be baffled, but we shall gain a new and forcible argument to perfuade men over to it.

Now, the eafinefs or difficulty of the observation of any laws or commands depends chiefly upon these three things.

1. Upon the nature of the laws themfelves, and their fuitableness or unfuitableness to thofe to whom they are given.

2. Upon the ability or weakncfs of thofe on whom thefe laws are impofed for the keeping of them. For eafinefs and difficulty are relative terms, and refer to fome power; and a thing may be difficult to a weak man, which yet may be eafy to the fame perfon when affifted with a greater ftrength.

3. Upon the encouragement that is given to the obfervation of them. For the propofal of great rewards does very much qualify and allay the difficulty of any undertaking.

Now, if I can make these three things evident; I. That the laws of God are reasonable, that is, fuitable to our nature, and advantageous to our intereft; 2. That we are not deftitute of fufficient power and ability for the performance of them; and, 3. That we have the greatest encouragements to this purpofe: then have we all imaginable reason to affent to the truth of this propofition, That the commandments of God are not grie

vous.

I. The laws of God are reasonable; that is, fuitable

It is

to our nature, and advantageous to our interest. true, God hath a fovereign right over us as we are his creatures, and by virtue of this right he might without injustice have impofed difficult tasks upon us, and have required hard things at our hands: but in making laws for us, he hath not made use of this right. He hath commanded us nothing in the gospel, that is either unfuitable to our reafon, or prejudical to our intereft; nay, nothing that is fevere, and against the grain of our nature, but when either the apparent neceffity of our intereft does require it, or an extraordinary reward is promifed to our obedience. He hath fhewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? This is the fum of the natural law, That we should behave ourselves reverently and obediently towards the divine Majefty, and justly and charitably towards men; and that, in order to the fitting of us for the better discharge of thefe duties, we should govern ourselves in the use of fenfual delights with temperance and moderation. And if we go over the laws of Chriftianity, we shall find, that, excepting a very few particulars, they injoin the very fame things; only they have made our duty more clear and certain. But this I have had occafion to make out largely in the foregoing dif courfe, and therefore I fhall fay the lefs to it now.

As to the feveral parts of God's worship and fervice, prayer and thanksgiving, hearing and reading the word of God, and receiving of the facrament; these are all no lefs for our own comfort and advantage, than for the honour of God and religion. And there is nothing of difficulty or trouble in the external performance of them, but what hypocrify can make tolerable to itself: and certainly they must be not only much more eafy, but even delightful, when they are directed by our understandings, and accompanied with our hearts and affections.

As for thofe laws of religion which concern our duty to ourselves, as temperance and chastity; or to others, as the feveral branches of juftice and charity, comprehended in thofe general rules, of loving our neighbour as ourfelves, and of doing to others as we would have them to do to us there is nothing in all these laws but what is moft