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creation of the world are clearly feen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and godhead; εἰς τό εἶναι αυτες αναπολογήτες, fo that they are without excufe, Rom. i. 20.; that is, thofe men that know not God, have no apology to make for themselves. Or, if men do know and believe that there is fuch a being as God, not to confider the proper confequences of fuch a principle, not to demean ourfelves towards him, as becomes our relation to him, and dependence upon him, and the duty which we naturally owe him; this is great ftupidity and inconfideratenefs.

And yet he that confiders the lives and actions of the greatest part of men, would verily think that they underftood nothing of all this. Therefore the fcripture reprefents wicked men as without understanding: It is a nation void of counsel, neither is there any understanding in them, Deut. xxxii. 28.; and elsewhere, Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Pfal. xiv. 4.; not that they are deftitute of the natural faculty of understanding, but they do not use it as they ought: they are not blind, but they wink; they detain the truth of God in unrightecufnefs; and though they know God, yet they do not glorify him as God, nor fuffer the apprehenfions of him to have a due influence upon their hearts and lives.

Men generally ftand very much upon the credit and reputation of their understandings, and, of all things in the world, hate to be accounted fools, because it is fo great a reproach. The best way to avoid this imputation, and to bring off the credit of our understandings, is, to be truly religious; to fear the Lord, and to depart from evil. For certainly there is no fuch imprudent perfon, as he that neglects God, and his foul, and is careless and flothful about his everlasting concernments; because this man acts contrary to his truest reason, and best interest: he neglects his own fafety, and is active to procure his own ruin: he flies from happiness, and runs a way from it as faft as he can ; but purfues mifery, and makes hafte to be undone. Hence it is that Solomon does all along in the Proverbs give the title of fool to a wicked man, as if it were his proper name, and the fitteft character of him; because he is fo eminently fuch. There is no fool to the finner, who every moment ven

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tures his foul, and lays his everlasting interest at the stake. Every time a man provokes God, he does the greatest mifchief to himself that can be imagined. A madman, that cuts himself, and tears his own flesh, and dafhes his head against the ftones, does not act fo unreasonably as he; because he is not fo fenfible of what he does. Wickedness is a kind of voluntary frenzy, and a chofen diftraction and every finner does wilder and more extravagant things, than any man can do that is crazed, and out of his wits; only with this fad difference, that he knows better what he does. For to them who believe another life after this, an eternal state of happiness or mifery in another world, which is but a reasonable postulatum or demand among Chriftians, there is nothing in mathematicks more demonftrable than the folly of wicked men; for it is not a clearer and more evident principle, That the whole is greater than a part, than that eternity, and the concernments of it, are to be preferred before time.

I will therefore put the matter into a temporal cafe, that wicked men, who understand any thing of the rules and principles of worldly wisdom, may fee the imprudence of an irreligious and finful courfe, and be convinced, that this their way is their folly, even themselves being judges.

Is that man wife, as to his body, and his health, who only clothes his hands, but leaves his whole body naked; who provides only against the toothach, and neglects whole troops of mortal diseases that are ready to rufh in upon him? Juft thus does he who takes care only for this vile body, but neglects his precious and immortal foul; who is very folicitous to prevent fmall and temporal inconveniencies, but takes no care to escape the damnation of hell.

Is he a prudent man, as to his temporal estate, that lays defigns only for a day, without any profpect to, ar provifion for the remaining part of his life? Even fo does he that provides for the fhort time of this life, but takes no care for all eternity; which is to be wife for a moment, but a fool for ever; and to act as untowardly, and as crofsly to the reafon of things, as can be imagi

ned;

ned; to regard time as if it were eternity, and to neglect eternity as if it were but a short time.

Do we count him a wife man, who is wife in any thing but in his own proper profeffion and employment; wife for every body but himfelf; who is ingenious to contrive his own mifery, and to do himself a mischief, but is dull and ftupid as to the defigning of any real benefit and advantage to himself? Such a one is he, who is ingenious in his calling, but a bad Chriftian; for Chriftianity is more our proper calling and profeffion, than the very trades we live upon and fuch is every finner, who is wife to do evil, but to do good hath no understanding.

Is it wisdom in any man, to neglect and disoblige him who is his best friend, and can be his foreft enemy? or with one weak troop, to go out to meet him that comes against him with thousands of thoufands? to fly a small danger, and run upon a greater? Thus does every wicked man that neglects and contemns God, who can fave, or destroy him; who ftrives with his maker, and provoketh the Lord to jealousy, and, with the finall and inconfiderable forces of a man, takes the field against the mighty God, the Lord of hofts; who fears them that can kill the body, but after that have no more that they can do, but fears not him, who, after he hath killed, can deftroy both "body and foul in hell. And thus does he who, for fear of any thing in this world, ventures to difpleafe God: for in fo doing, he runs away from men, and falls into the hands of the living God; he flies from a temporal danger, and leaps into hell.

Is not he an imprudent man, who, in matters of greatest moment and concernment, neglects opportunities never to be retrieved; who standing upon the fhore, and seeing the tide making hafte towards him apace, and that he hath but a few minutes to fave himfelf, yet will lay himself to fleep there, till the cruel fea rufh in upon him, and overwhelm him? And is he any better, who trifles away this day of God's grace and patience, and foolishly adjourns the neceffary work of repentance, and the weighty business of religion, to a dying hour?

And, to put an end to these questions, Is he wife who hopes to attain the end without the means, nay, by means that are quite contrary to it? Such is every wicked man,

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who hopes to be blessed hereafter without being holy here, and to be happy, that is, to find a pleasure in the enjoyment of God, and in the company of holy fpirits, by rendering himself as unsuitable and unlike to them

as he can.

Wouldst thou then be truly wife? be wife for thyself, wife for thy foul, wife for eternity. Refolve upon a religious courfe of life. Fear God, and depart from evil. Look beyond things present and fenfible, unto things which are not feen, and are eternal. Labour to secure the great interefts of another world, and refer all the actions of this fhort and dying life, to that state which will fhortly begin, but never have an end: and this will approve itself to be wisdom at the last, whatever the world judge of it now. For not that which is approved of men now, but what shall finally be approved by God, is true wisdom; that which is esteemed fo by him who is the fountain and original of all wisdom; the first rule and measure, the best and most competent judge of it.

I deny not, but that thofe that are wicked, and neglect religion, may think themselves wife, and may enjoy this their delufion for a while. But there is a time a-coming, when the most profane and Atheistical, who now account it a piece of gallantry, and an argument of a great fpirit, and of a more than common wit and underftanding, to flight God, and to baffle religion, and to level all the difcourfes of another world with the poetical defcriptions of the Fairy-land; I fay, there is a day a-coming, when all these witty fools fhall be unhappily undeccived, and, not being able to enjoy their delufion any longer, fhall call themfelves fools for ever.

But why fhould I ufe fo much importunity to perfuade men to that which is fo excellent, fo useful, and fo neceffary? The thing itself hath allurements in it beyond all arguments: for, if religion be the best knowledge and wisdom, I cannot offer any thing beyond this to your understandings, to raise your esteem of it; I can prefent nothing beyond this to your affections, to excite your love and defire. All that can be done, is, to fet the thing before men, and to offer it to their choice: and if mens natural defire of wisdom, and knowledge, and happiness, will not perfuade them to be religious, it is in vain to

ufe

ufe arguments; if the fight of these beauties will not charm mens affections, it is to no purpose to go about to compel a liking, and to urge and push forward a match, to the making whereof confent is neceffary. Religion is matter of our freeft choice; and if men will obftinately and wilfully set themselves against it, there is no remedy. Pertinacia nullum remedium pofuit Deus, "God "has provided no remedy for the obftinacy of men;" but if they will chufe to be fools, and to be miferable, he will leave them to inherit their own choice, and to enjoy the portion of finners.

SERMON II.

The folly of fcoffing at religion.

2 PE T. iii. 3.

Knowing this first, that there fhall come in the laft days fcoffers, walking after their own lufts.

K

Nowing this firft. In the verfe before, the Apoftle was fpeaking of a famous prophecy, before the accomplishment of which this fort of men whom he calls coffers fhould come: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of our Lord and Saviour: knowing this first, that there shall come in the laft days fcoffers, &c.

The prophecy here fpoken of, is probably that famous. prediction of the deftruction of Jerufalem which is in the Prophet Daniel, and before the fulfilling whereof our Saviour exprefsly tells us falfe prophets fhould arife, and deceive many, Matth. xxiv. 11.

Now the fcoffers here fpoken of, are the falfe teachers whom the Apostle had been defcribing all along in the foregoing chapter: There were false prophets alfo among the people, even as there fhall be falfe teachers among you.

Thefe,