to our private intereft, honour, or pleafure; employs all our parts, power, and wealth, and all our time too, in pursuit of our particular advantage. Senfuality tempts a man to abandon the care and concern for his country, his friends and relations, and neglect the duties of his ftation, that he may give himself to fome fottish and difhonourable vice: it prevails with him to refuse alms to the poor, afftance to any publick or neighbourly good work, and even a decent, nay, fometimes a necessary allowance to his family, that he may waste and lavish out his fortune upon fome vile and expenfive luft. In a word, it makes him incapable of the fatigues of civil buf nefs; and much more of the hardships and hazards of war: fo that inftead of imitating the glorious example of Uriah, who would not fuffer himself to be courted into the enjoyment even of allowed pleasures, nor indulge himself in the tendernesses and careffes of a wife and chil dren, while Joab and the armies of Ifrael were in the field; he, on the contrary, diffolves and melts down his life and fortune in uncleanness and luxury, the shame and burden of his country and his family, at a time when not only the honour, but the fafety of his country lies at ftake, and prince and people defend it by their toil and blood. What fhould I mention the R 2 love love of the world? Are not the effects of it as visible amongst us, as deplorable? Does not this, where-ever it reigns, fill all places with bribery and corruption, falfbood, treachery, and cowardife? Worfe cannot be faid on't, and more needs not: for what focieties can thrive, or which way can credit and reputation be fupported? What treasures, what counfels, what armies, what conduct, can fave a people, where these vices prevail? Let us now, on the other fide, fuppofe felfishness, fenfuality, and the love of the world, cafhiered; and faith, hope and charity entertained in their room; what a bleffed change will this effect in the world? How foon will honour and integrity, truth and justice, and a publick Spirit revive? How ferviceable and eminent will these render every man in his charge? These are the true principles of great and brave actions: thefe, these alone, can render our duty dearer to us than any temporal confideration: these will enable us to do good works, without an eye to the return they will make us: thefe will make it appear to us very reafonable, to facrifice fortune, life, every thing, when the honour of God and publick good, demand it of us. The belief and hope of heaven is a fufficient encouragement to virtue, when all others fail: the love of God, as our fupreme good, will make make us easily furmount the confideration of expence, difficulty or hazard, in fuch attempts as we are fure will please him; and the love of our neighbour as our felves will make us compaffionate to his evils and wants, tender to his infirmities, and zealous of his good as of our own. How happy then would these principles make the world? And how much is it the interest of every one to encourage and propagate these, and to discountenance and fupprefs the contrary ones? I have done with the fecond effect of Chriftian Liberty; and will pafs on to the third, as foon as I have made two remarks on this last paragraph. First, 'Tis very evident from what has been faid in it, that folid virtue can be grafted on no stock, but that of religion that univerfal righteouf ness can be raised on none but gofpel principles; who is be that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jefus is the Chrift? 1 John v. 5. I do not oppofe this propofition against Jew or Gentile. God vouchfafed in fundry times and in divers manners, fuch revelations of his truth, and fuch communications of his grace, as he faw fit: and to these is their righteousness therefore, whatever it was, to be attributed; not to the law of nature or Mofes. But I oppose it against the bold pretenfions of libertines and atheists at this day. Honour and juftice in their mouths is a vain boaft; and the R 3 natural natural power they pretend to over their own actions, to Square and govern them according to the rules of right reafon, is only a malicious defign to fupplant the honour of divine grace; and is as falfe and groundless as arrogant. Alas! they talk of a liberty which they do not understand: for did they but once admit purity of heart into their notion of it, they would foon difcern what ftrangers they are to it. How is it poffible, but that they fhould be the fervants of the body, who reject and difbelieve the dignity and pre-eminence of the foul? How is it poffible, they should not be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, who either believe no God, or none that concerns himfelf much about us? And how can they chufe but be felfish and fenfual, and doat upon this world, who expect no better, who believe no other? Take away Providence and a life to come, and what can oblige a man to any action, that fhall cross his temporal intereft or his pleasure? What fhall reward his efpoufing virtue, when it has no dowry, but loffes, reproaches and perfecutions? What fhall curb him in the career of a luft, when he may commit it, not only with impunity, but, as the world fometimes goes, with honour and preferment too? Though, therefore, fuch men as thefe may poffibly restrain their outward actions, yet are they all the while enflaved enflaved and defiled in their affections; and the very liberty they boast of in their conduct and management of themselves openly, fprings from their fecret fervitude to fome vile paffion, or other. Nor yet can I be fo foft and eafy as to grant, that fuch men as these either do or can arrive at the liberty they pretend to: I mean, that of regulating and governing all their outward actions by the rules of virtue. They too often throw off the difguife, which either hypocrify or enmity to religion makes them put on; and prove too plainly to the world, that when they lay restraints on themselves in this or that fin, 'tis only to indulge themselves the more freely and fecurely in others. Secondly, My next remark is, that it is grofs ftupidity, or impudence, to deny a providence and another world, when the belief of both is fo indispensably neceffary to the well-being of this. The frame and nature of man, and the neceffities of this world require both. Without thefe, felfishness muft undoubtedly be the predominant principle. This would breed unreafonable defires; and thefe would fill us with fears and jealoufies: fo that a ftate of nature would indeed be a state of war; and our enmity against one another would not be extinguished by civil fociety; but only concealed and reftrained, till a fit occafion for its breaking out fhould prefent |