Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB
[ocr errors]

V.

ments of the Church, or by a confident Re- SER M. liance upon the Merits of Chrift, elude the Threatnings of the Almighty, and artfully escape the Wrath of the Juft and Righteous Judge of the Whole Earth; does not This plainly give him encou ragement to defer his Repentance, to think Virtue and Goodness really needlefs, and to continue in Sin, that Grace may abound? Again: If a Man can fancy that the most important and fundamental point of Religion, is the adhering fiercely to fome one particular Sect, Party, or Denomination of Men; and the contending violently for or against certain peculi ar Forms or Geremonies of Worship; has not This an evident Tendency to make him believe, that, by a great Zeal for thefe external Forms, he may commute or compenfate for the Want of those Moral Virtues, which Alone are of Real and Effential Goodness? But if, beyond All This, a Man's very Mind and Confcience be fo far defiled, as that he can imagine Religion to lay a direct Obligation upon him to commit fome of the greatest of Wickedneffes, to make ufe of the vileft Frauds and the most open Violences, to I 3 break

V.

SERM.break Faith against the moft Solemn Engagements, and even with the greatest Cruelty to deftroy Men's Lives in order to do God good Service; as Those of the Church of Rome have frequently done: Whenever This (I fay) is the Cafe, fo that Men can fatisfy their very wort Paf fions, of Ambition, Pride, Cruelty and Tyranny, not only without the Reproach, but even with the highest Applaufe, of their own Consciences; What Hope, what Poffibility is there, for Virtue and Goodness here to take Any place? Take beed, that the Light which is in thee, be not Darkness.

[ocr errors]

THE Light, which God originally implanted in Men, is Reafon, or their Natural Senfe and Difcernment of the Difference of Good and Evil. The Light of Revelation, is a Confirmation and Improvement of the Natural Light of Reafon. And they are Both of them extinguished, by the Darkness of Irreligion, and (which is ftill of worfe confequence) by the False Lights of Superfition

THE Inferences from what has been faid, are briefly as follows.

ift. FROM

[ocr errors]

V.

ft. FROM this exhortation of our Sa-SER M viour given to all Chriftians, Take heed, that the Light which is in thee, be not darknefs; 'tis evident that perfons even of the meanest capacities, may and must have a clear Understanding of their Chriftian Duty, fo far as 'tis at any time to Them a Duty. To live foberly, righteously and godly, with a conftant Sense of God upon their Minds, and under a perpetual Expectation of the Future Judgment; is what the Loweft Capacities may fee clearly and diftinctly to be their Duty. This is Fundamental in Religion. Things of greater Difficulty, they cannot be obliged to understand or regard, any further than they meet with particular Light to direct them. If at any time they run on impli citly, and stop not at the things they certainly know; they run an apparent hazard either of walking in Darkness, or (which is ftill more dangerous) of following a Falfe and Deceitful Light.

2. WHOEVER at any time fpeaks against Reafon, in matters of Religion; knows not, or confiders not, whereof be affirms. All Reafon and Truth is from God; And God does as truly reveal himself by the Nature I 4 and

w

SER Md Reafon of Things, as by Inspiration of V. Words. Reafon, is the Light of God's Creation: And though Men, if they be not very careful and very fincere, may mistake their own Fancies and Imaginations for Reafon; yet the Nature and Truth of Things, is ftill really what it is; and Light is always difcernible, if Men would honeftly attend to it. The Experience of all Ages and of all Nations hath fhown, that No Errors have been of fuch wide Extent, and of fuch lafting Continuance, and fo deftructive of all Moral Virtue and Goodness; as those which Men have been led into, by departing from the most evident and rational Fundamentals of Religion, to follow the blind and falfe Lights of Superftition.

3. FROM what has been faid; 'tis evident it never was our Lord's intention, that there should be among Men (what the Church of Rome pretends to be) an Infallible Guide. Had any fuch thing been appointed of God, our Saviour's Caution in the Text, and in numberless other places of his Gofpel, had been needlefs and absurd. Teachers of Reli

[ocr errors]

gion, are, in the nature of the thing, ne

ceffary;

ceffary; and, in fact, expreffly appointed SER M. of Chrift. But all Teaching, fuppofes V. that perfons are capable of being taught; and that, when they Are taught, they can Then fee and know the thing to be right. In the way to eternal life, a man may very well be supposed to want the direction of a Guide: Yet in the whole Course of That Way, he may by Many very Marks and Tokens, laid down beforehand in Reafon and Scripture, diftinguish clearly whether his Guide directs him right or no: And if his Guide leads him to a Precipice, he may eafily enough difcern it. Take heed, that the Light which is in thee, be not Darkness.

certain

SERMON

« AnteriorContinuar »