SERM. ness to his marvellous light; not only by our profession, LXIV. but in our practice declaring his goodness.

Tit. i. 16.

On the other hand, by stifling our virtue and conscience, in an open compliance with sin, or neglect of our duty, we greatly shall dishonour God; for thereby in effect we deny him and desert him; we injure his majesty, and disclaim our allegiance to him; we intimate our mean opinion of him, and small affection to him; we betray our want of reverence to his excellency, of dread to his greatness, of love to his goodness, of hope in his promises and gracious overtures of mercy, of fear in regard to his severe justice and fierce menaces; so immediately we dishonour him, and we thereby also do countenance disrespect and disobedience to him; and our behaviour tendeth to produce or to confirm the like irreligious dispositions of mind and impious practices in others; so that with horrible disingenuity we cross the design of our creation, and violate our greatest obligations toward our Maker.

Indeed what greater affront or more heinous indignity can we offer to God, than openly before the world, by the Tit. i. 16. most real expression of our works, to deny and disown him;

than to be notoriously ashamed or afraid to avow him for our Lord and Master; than to express no sense of our duty to him, no reverence of his authority, no gratitude for his benefits to us; than visibly to prefer any other consideration or worldly advantage before a regard to his will and pleasure?

In this, open sin doth outgo private wickedness, and putteth down even the worst hypocrisy, (beside its own,) that it not only offendeth God, but sorely woundeth his honour, and exposeth his glorious name to contempt? by which consideration such miscarriages are frequently aggravated in holy Scripture; so in the Prophets God complaineth of his people, for having by their scandalous crimes profaned his holy name among the heathen; sɔ St. xxxvi. 21-Paul expostulateth with the Jew, Thou that boasteth of the Rom. ii. 23. law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? so Nathan told David, that God would punish him, because

Ezek.

Is. lii. 2.

2 Sam. xii.

14.

by his bad deed he had given great occasion to the enemies SERM. of the Lord to blaspheme. But,

4. We should be careful of our good behaviour in the sight of men, that we may thereby maintain the dignity and repute of our Christian profession, which by our naughty or negligent demeanour will be much disparaged and disgraced.

Most evident it is to reason, that a visible practice, conformable to the rules of our religion, cannot otherwise than exceedingly commend and grace it; for how can the goodness of a rule more surely obtain its due commendation, than from its being applied to observable practice and experience?

LXIV.

Assuredly charity, meekness, humility, patience, sobriety, discretion, and all Christian virtues, as in themselves they are very amiable and venerable to all men, as they yield great benefit and much pleasure to those whom their consequences do touch; so they do ingratiate the law which prescribeth them, they bring esteem to the principles whence they are derived; he, as the Apostle Rom. xiv. saith, that in these things serveth Christ, is both acceptable to God and approved of men, as the follower of a most excellent rule.

We may also consider, that a conspicuous practice, according to our religion, is a demonstrative proof that we do seriously and firmly embrace it, or that we are heartily and steadily persuaded of its truth; which is no small credit to any profession; arguing that it hath a good foundation in reason, apt to bottom and sustain a solid faith.

And as thereby we pregnantly do evidence that we ourselves do highly value the noble privileges, the excellent promises, the precious rewards exhibited in the Gospel; so we thereby do breed a like esteem in others; upon whom the authority of men apparently virtuous and conscientious infallibly will have a forcible influence.

Such a practice will have a great stroke toward evincing the truth and reality, the perfect excellency, the notable strength and efficacy of our religion; plainly shew

18.

SERM. ing, that it is not a mere name, an idle pretence, a weak LXIV. fancy, a dry speculation, a chimerical dream; but a vigor

2.

ous and masculine principle, able to produce most worthy fruits of substantial goodness, profitable to men; conducible to our own welfare, and to the benefit of others.

As gallant actions, becoming a noble rank, elevated above the vulgar level, do illustrate and dignify nobility itself; so doth a worthy conversation, beseeming our high station in the heavenly kingdom, our near alliances to God, those splendid titles and glorious privileges assigned to every faithful Christian in the evangelical charter, render our state admirable, and make it seem an excellent advantage to be a Christian.

Hence in the apostolical writings, an observance of the evangelical laws is so much and often enforced by this consideration; for upon this account we are exhorted to a careTit. ii. 10, ful discharge of our duty, that we may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; we are urged to have Phil. i, 27. our conversation worthy of the Gospel; to walk worthy Eph. iv. 1. of the vocation wherewith we are called, to behave ourEph. v. 3. Rom. xvi. selves as worthily becometh saints, (that is, persons instituted in so holy a religion, and designed to so peculiar Eph. v. 8. excellency in virtue ;) to walk as children of the light, (that 1 Thess. ii. is, of truth and knowledge revealed from heaven;) to walk worthy of God, who hath called us into his kingdom and Col. i. 10. glory; worthy of the Lord unto all well-pleasing, being fruitful in every good work; the which enforcements of duty do imply a visible practice, producing the visible effects of ornament and credit to our religion, recommending it to the minds and consciences of men.

12.

Contrariwise, the defect of good conversation before men in Christians is upon divers accounts disgraceful to our religion. For,

It tempteth men to judge, that we ourselves do not heartily believe its truth or value its worth; that we do not approve its doctrine for reasonable, or take its advantages for considerable; or deem the name and state of a Christian to be honourable; seeing we are not concerned to own them, or do not care to engage our reputation in

avowing and abetting them in that way which doth best sig- SERM. nify our mind and meaningg; for men certainly will judge LXIV. of our sense not so much by what we say as from what we do; not by our verbal profession or pretence, but from our practice, as the surest indication of our heart.

Wherefore when they hear us to confess our faith, and see us act like infidels, they will be forced to esteem us either for subdolous hypocrites or for inconsistent fools; who assume the name of Christians, and pretend to great advantages thence, yet in effect do not mind or regard them; highly commending the rules of our religion, but not at all observing them; greatly admiring the example of our Saviour, but not caring to imitate it; describing heaven for a most happy place, but not striving to get thither in the sole way which our Lord prescribeth, of faithful and diligent obedience to his precepts.

Seeing, I say, this repugnance between our profession and our practice, will induce men to charge us with hypocrisy or folly; and if the professors be taken for counterfeits or fools, the profession itself will hardly scape from being held imposture or folly.

Our religion, at least, will thence be exposed to the censures of being no better than a fond device, and a barren notion, unpracticable, ineffectual, and insignificant to any good purpose.

The visible misbehaviour, I say, of Christians will assuredly derive obloquy and reproach on Christianity, if not as bad, yet as vain, impotent, impertinent and useless; especially those who are disaffected to it will hence take advantage to insult upon it with contemptuous scorn; To what, will they say, do your fine rules serve? what effects do your glorious hopes produce? where are the fruits of that holy faith and heavenly doctrine which you so extol and magnify?

Whereas also bad conversation commonly doth not only deprive men of the benefits which our religion promiseth, but doth with it hurtful fruits; men that see or feel them will be apt to impute them to religion.

carry

«Εἰ δὲ τις ἐλεγχθῇ πράξας τι ἄνομον, ὁ τοιᾶτος & μόνον ἑαυτὸν ἔβλαψεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ βλασφημίαν προσέτριψε τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ. Const. Ap. ii. 8.

SERM. If a Christian be unjust, censorious, factious, anywise LXIV. offensive or troublesome, although irreligion be the cause of such things, yet religion must bear the blame, and they presently exclaim,

"Ινα μη μας

Quantum religio potuit suadere malorum.

Whence St. Paul (who as a powerful instructor doth impress matters of duty by the most proper motives) doth often and upon all occasions urge this consideration; he 2Cor. vi. 3. chargeth us to give no offence in any thing, that the miniμηθῇ. stry (or evangelical dispensation) be not blamed, or exposed to the censure of any captious Momus; he biddeth us to forbear harsh judgment and all uncharitable dealing, Rom. xiv. that our good be not evil spoken of: he presseth the discharge of our duty in each calling and relation, that by. 1Tim. vi. 1. neglect thereof the Gospel be not defamed: Let, saith he,

16.

1Tim. v. 14.

as many servants as are under the yoke, count their own masters worthy of all honour, that the name of God and Tit. ii. 3. his doctrine be not blasphemed: and, Let women be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed; and, I will that younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, (so as) to give no occasion to the adversary (that is, to persons disaffected to Christianity) to speak reproachfully (of it): which discourse, by clear parity of reason, may be applied any other state or relation.

to

Now, seriously, what greater mischief can we do, what heavier guilt may we contract, than by working dishonour to God's adorable name, than by casting reproach on God's heavenly truth, than by drawing a scandal on that holy religion, which the Son of God came down from heaven to establish, for the glory of God and salvation of mankind? Surely, next after directly blaspheming God, and Rom. ii. 24. defying religion with our own mouths, the next crime is to make others to do so, or in effect to do it by their profane tongues.

δι ὑμᾶς.

There remain divers arguments of very great moment, which the time will not suffer me to urge; and, therefore, I must reserve them to another occasion.