Ενώπιον ἀν

Such practice is flatly repugnant to that rule, which SERM. otherwhere in precept, and here by his own example, the LXVI. holy Apostle doth recommend to us; directing us not Rom. xii. only before God, (that is, in our heart, and in our fecret 17. retirements, which God alone doth behold,) but also before Spwv. men, that is, in our external and visible conversation, carefully to perform things good and laudable, eschewing whatever is bad or culpable.

Our obligation to which rule hath already been confirmed by divers other precepts in holy Scripture, concurring in the injunction of it; and its obfervance urged by various pofitive confiderations of great weight and force, (declaring how neceffary it is for promoting God's honour and glory, how requifite it is for maintaining the dignity of our profeffion, and advancing the interefts of goodness, how charity and justice toward our neighbour do exact it from us, how conducible it is to the public benefit of mankind, and how advantageous in many respects to our own particular welfare;) and not infisting farther upon those confiderations, I fhall now only enforce it by scanning the common principles, grounds, motives, pretences or excuses of the contrary practice, which I before touched, of openly deferting virtue, or declining the performance of duty before men; and by fhewing how very foolish and vain, how very naughty and base, how very mifchievous, dangerous, and pernicious they are.

They chiefly are those which I fhall immediately touch and reflect upon.

1. Men commonly in their vifible converfation do neglect their duty, or comply with fin out of modesty; because they are afhamed of doing that which may expose them to fome difgrace or cenfure; because virtuous practice may raise distaste in the company, and provoke the fcorn of those with whom they converfe; because such a point of duty is out of request, and flighted in the world; they are afraid of men's faces; their tender forehead can- Jer. i. 8. not sustain derifion, or endure to be flouted for being out of the mode, and wearing an uncouth garb of conscience. But this plainly is a perverfe and unmanly modefty; a

SERM. fond, a vile, a shameful shame: fie on it! should any man LXVI. be ashamed of that, which is his chief beauty, his best

ii. 25.

ornament, his fole dignity and glory? should a man be afhamed of being evidently wife in his conduct, of following his reason, of consulting his true interest, of pursuing his own certain welfare and felicity? is it fit that any man should be ashamed of paying due acknowledgment, of yielding due reverence, of rendering due gratitude, of performing due fervice to his Creator, fovereign Lord, and great Benefactor; to whom he oweth all, upon whose will he entirely dependeth, at whofe abfolute disposal he is? Surely these are no fhameful things, but fuch rather wherein we ought to have the greatest confidence, which we ought to perform with the greatest affurance.

If we are bashful, let us be fo in regard to things which are truly shameful; let us be ashamed of fin, that is, of our most real deformity, our turpitude, our disgrace, our wretchedness; the which indeed is the only dishonourable and despicable thing; the which did first produce fhame, Gen. iii. 2. and did introduce it into the world, (for while innocence did abide, there was no fhame,) and the which will ever carry fhame along as its infeparable adherent: it would indeed become us to blush at our horrible unworthiness and deteftable ingratitude toward our bountiful Lord, and moft gracious Redeemer; it were proper for us to be confounded at our extreme folly and foul treachery toward ourselves, in betraying our fouls to guilt, to regret, to wrath and punishment: who fhould be ashamed, who Pf. xxv. 3. not, the holy Psalmist hath well taught us, Let none that wait on thee be ashamed; let them be ashamed which tranfgrefs without caufe: and, Let the proud be ashamed-but let my heart be found in thy ftatutes, that I be not ashamed. It is true modesty to be ashamed of doing unworthy and unhandsome things; but to be ashamed of doing what reason and duty require, is pitiful weakness of mind.

Pfal. cxix.

78-80.

We do not owe so much regard to vicious and vain perfons, as to be dashed out of countenance by them; we should rather by our mafculine refolution and upright

Tit. ii. s. confidence put them to confufion.

If fhame be an evil which we would avoid, the only SERM. remedy thereof we may learn from those words of the LXVI. Pfalmift, Then fhall I not be ashamed, when I have respect to Pfal. cxix. thy teftimonies: but it is a fond courfe to fhun difgrace by 6. doing that which alone deferveth it.

Jer. vi. 17.

Is it not also a wild thing to feem modeft toward men, while we are really fo bold with God, as prefumptuously to offend him, to affront him, to provoke him (as those in If. lxv. 3. the Prophet did) to his face? for fo indeed every finner viii. 12. doth; and as it is the greatest inadvertency not to confider God alway present with us, so it is the height of impudence to fin in his prefence, or to prefer a regard to men before the reverence due to his eye a.

20.

Is it not alfo great folly for declining a little present tranfient difgrace, to do that whereof afterward we shall be grievously and perpetually afhamed; which we fhall Wifd. iv. never remember or reflect upon without confufion, (according to that of the Apostle, What fruit had ye of those (Jer. xxii. things whereof ye are now afhamed ?) the confequence Rom. vi. whereof is our standing obnoxious to shame and everlasting 2. contempt.

22.)

Dan. xii. 2.

If we be thus afhamed of God, and of our duty to him, may he not juftly in recompenfe be afhamed of us, and disdain to own us in favour and mercy? He will furely, he hath often declared fo; Whofoever, faith our Lord, shall Luke ix. be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of 2 Tim. ii. man be ashamed, when he fhall come in his own glory, and 12. in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

2. Another principle, near of kin to the former, difpofing men to commit fin, or wave duty in their open converfation, is fear of lofing the good-will, or getting the ill-will of men.

It must often happen, that whoever will be virtuous, and stick to his duty, will forfeit the favour of men, will incur their displeasure, will provoke their indignation; by croffing their humour and conceit, by implicitly flighting their opinion and condemning their practice: this is the portion

• Quid quæfo rationis habet verecundari ad diem hominis, et vultum Dei non vereri ? Bern. Ep. 108.

26. xii. 9.

SERM. and fate of ftrict and stiff piety; the friendship of God and LXVI. the world are not well confiftent; and St. Paul's rule may Jam. iv. 4. be converted, If I should please men, I should not be the 1 John ii. fervant of Chrift: hence men prizing the favour of men Gal. i. 10. with the advantages of it, and dreading their anger, hatred, disdain, with the mischiefs confequent on them, are scared from their duty.

15.

If. ii. 22..

But in truth this is a filly, a base, a forry fear, arguing wretched meanness of spirit, and pitiful cowardice. For, Doft thou, fond wretch, fear to lose the favour of man, whofe favour doth avail nothing to thy main interefts, and cannot anywife confiderably benefit thee, (for in no respect doft thou depend on his will and providence,) but doft not fear being deprived of God's favour, upon which all thy good hangeth, wherein thy felicity confifteth, without which thou art uncapable of any prosperity, of any fecurity, of any joy or comfort?

Doft thou fear the displeasure of man, of poor impotent Job xxv. 6. man, a forry frail worm, whose breath is in his noftrils, (ready to fly away in every moment,) whofe anger can do thee no real harm, whose power can hardly touch thee, Matt. x. 28. can nowife reach thy foul or its concerns; whilst thou dreadeft not to offend the eternal almighty God, under whofe feet thou lieft, ready to be crushed into nothing, or stamped down into hell at his pleasure?

Dareft thou not, O heartless daftard, to do that which is in thy power easily to do, which thou art infinitely concerned to do, which upon fo many accounts thou art obliged to do, out of fear to cross thine equal, yea far thine inferior in this cafe; for he that standeth to his duty, as he hath the better cause, so he hath the greater force, and affuredly will defeat all his opposers ?

Art thou, O pufillanimous slave, in regard to any creature, thy fellow-fubject and servant, afraid of expreffing thy loyalty to thy fovereign Lord, thy love to infinite goodnefs, thy gratitude to thy best friend and kindeft benefactor, thy reverence toward the divine majefty, thine awe of uncontrolable power? is this a reasonable, an excufable, a tolerable fear?

Surely if ever to be driven out of heart is reproachful, SERM. if ever to be cowed doth argue infirmity and abjectnefs of LXVI. fpirit, it is in this cafe; when we have all the reafon and obligation in the world to be most courageous and refolute, to fear no colours, to make our party good against all oppofition; when we have the greatest neceffity to engage us, and the greatest advantage to encourage us to hold out stoutly; the greatest neceffity, seeing all that we have, our life, our falvation, our eternal weal doth lie at ftake; for it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your Deut.xxxii. life: the greatest advantage, for that if we will, we are invincible, and affured of an eafy victory, feeing we take part with God, and have Omnipotency on our fide; fo that we can say with David, The Lord is my helper, IPfal. cxviii. will not fear what man can do unto me: The Lord is my Heb. xiii. 6. light and my falvation, whom shall I fear? the Lord is the Pfal. Ivi. 11. Strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?

47.

6.

xi. 4. xxvii. 1, 3. xlvi. 2.

xx. 11.

xxvi.

24. XV. 1.

9. Deut.

xx. 17.

There is not indeed, to those who are under God's Jer. i. 8. fpecial protection, and confide in him, any thing in nature Ifa. xli. 10. really formidable or terrible: it is his peculiar attribute to Gen xx be the mighty and terrible One; he recommendeth him- Num. xiv. felf to us as our fear, that is, the special object of it; we xxxi.. therefore do facrilegiously wrong him, by fearing any 2 Chron. other thing in such cases of competition, and when we are Jer. v. 22. concerned to fear him; whence then we are prohibited to X. 7. fear the greatest powers in the world; Fear not them Deut. vii. which kill the body, (if God permit them,) but are not able 21. x. 17. to kill the foul: but rather fear him who is able to deftroy Pf. lxxvi.7, both body and foul in hell.

Rev. xv. 4.

xxviii. 58.

11. xcix. 3. If. viii. 12.

Matt. x.

κακώ

Who, faith St. Peter, is he that will (or that can) harm xli. 10. you, if ye be followers of that which is good ?-wherefore 26, 28. be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but fanc- Tís i xanútify the Lord God in your hearts, (by a pure confidence in 1 Pet. iii. him.)

σων;

13, 14.

In fuch cafes, we should be ready to accost the greatest potentates in terms like those of the three brave youths in Daniel; O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to anfwer Dan. iii. 16, thee in this matter. If it be fo, our God whom we ferve is 17, 18.

able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will