God, who hath brought us to the Knowledge of the Truth, to the Belief of his Son, and his Miracles and Doctrines, to establish and confirm us, every Day more and more in that Knowledge and Belief, that we may never fall away from him, or affront the Holy Spirit, nor ever difhonour his excellent Religion with a loose, vitious, unchristian Life. This God of his Mercy grant, &c, SERMON SERMON XII. 1 COR. X. 31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatfoever ye do, do all to the Glory of God. T HE doing all our Actions to the of our Lives; and accordingly, among all Sorts of Pretenders to Religion, there is nothing more talked of, than that, and yet, perhaps, it is a Point that is often mifunderstood. For which Reason, I fhall at this Time make it my Business, to enquire into the true Notion and Importance of this great Point, and to give fome Account of those Cafes, that are ufually put about it. To do our Actions to the Glory of God, is to do our Actions fo, as that God may be glorified by them. Now, how that is to be done, we may have a great deal of Light, from St Paul's Difcourfe in this Chapter. He had spent the greatest part of it, in refolving fome Cafes of Confcience, about eat 253 ing those Things which had been offered in Sacrifice to Idols; in what Cafes it was lawful to a Chriftian to eat of them, and in what Cafes it was utterly unlawful: And again, when it was lawful, in what Cafes it was convenient for a Man to use his Chriftian Liberty, and in what Cafes it was convenient he should not use it, upon Account of the Weaknefs of other Mens Confciences. And the Refult of all his Inftructions and Advices, concerning these Points, is comprized in the Words of my Text, and those that follow, Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the Glory of God. Give no Offence neither to the few nor to the Gentile, nor to the Church of God: Even as I pleafe Men in all Things, not feeking my own Profit, but the Profit of many that they may be Javed. The Senfe of which Words is plainly this: That whenever Chriftians were invited to that fort of Feafts he had been speaking of, that not only as to their eating and drinking, but in all the other Actions of their Life, the great Rule they were to walk by, was this, of doing Honour to God, and advancing his Religion in the World. And therefore let them have a care of giving Offence, or putting a StumblingBlock before any: Let them have a care of doing any Action that might difcourage the Brethren in their Profeffion of Christianity, or encourage the Heathen to continue in their Idolatry; for all fuch Actions were a difho nouring nouring of God; but let them endeavour all poffible Ways by their Innocence and Vertue, and their prudent and charitable Behaviour, to adorn the Doctrine of God in all Things, and by that Means to recommend it to all about them. From hence now it appears pretty plain, that this Precept of glorifying God in our Actions, or doing our Actions to the Glory of God, hath this general Sense and Meaning That we take care to live according to Chrift's Religion, and that none of our Actions be contradictory to it, or caft a Blemish upon it, and thereby hinder others either from continuing in it, or coming over to it. But on the contrary, that we use our utmost Diligence to frame our Converfations in fuch a Way, as may both fhew us to be fincere, confcientious Chriftians our felves, and may likewife tend to the Honour and Advancement of Chriftianity in others. In a Word, we then glorify God, according to St. Paul, when we are as good as we can, and do as much good as we can. This, I fay, to me feems to be the true Notion of doing our Actions to the Glory of God, as would farther appear, if it was needful to infift on it, both from several other Paffages of Scripture, and likewise from the Reafon of the Thing. As for Scripture, I will only take Notice of two Paffages; one is that of our Saviour in the 15th of St. John the 8th Verfe, where he tells his Difciples, Hereby Hereby is my Father glorified, that ye bear much Fruit, fo fhall ye be my Difciples. If they had asked him this Queftion on purpose, how or by what Means a Man might bring Glory to God, or do his Actions to the Glory of God; he could not have given a more direct Answer to fuch a Question than he hath done in these Words: Hereby is mỹ Father glorified, that ye bear much Fruit; as much as to say, the true Way of glorifying God, is to abound in all the Fruits of a Holy and Chriftian Conversation. The other Text I fhall name, is that of St. Paul, Phil. i. 8, 10, and 11 Verses, I pray, faith he, that your Love may abound more and more, that ye may be fincere and without Offence, being filled with the Fruits of Righteoufnefs, which are by Christ Jefus unto the Glory and Praife of God. Nothing can be more plain from hence, than this, that we then advance the Glory and Praife of God; when our Love towards others does abound, when we are fincere and without Offence, being filled with the Fruits of Righteousness, which the Gospel of Chrift obliges us to. Nor is this only the Scripture Account of the Thing, but the very Notion which Nature and Reason will fuggeft to us. For pray what is the Glory of God, if we go to the very Strictness of the Expreffion, but the Manifeftation of himself to his Creatures, the Communication of his Excellencies and Perfections to others befides himself, to others that |