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SERM.ftition of paganism; out of which degeneracy, that CXIX. God hath rescued us, as we have infinite cause to adore his goodness, so we have all the reason in the world to dread and deteft a return into this spiritual Egypt, this houfe of darkness and bondage, and the bringing of our necks again under " that yoke, which "neither we nor our fathers were able to bear."

So that you fee that there are still very confiderable effects of the christian religion in the world, yea and I doubt not but in those places where it is moft corrupted and degenerated; because they still retain the effential doctrines of chriftianity, which have not quite loft their force, notwithstanding the many errors and corruptions that are mixt with them. And as God knows, and every man fees it, that the generality of chriftians are very bad, notwithstanding all the influence of that excellent religion which they profefs; yet I think it is very evident, men would be much worfe without it. For though very many who have entertained the principles of chriftianity are very wicked in their lives; yet many are otherwife and thofe that are bad have this advantage by their religion, that it is in its nature apt to reduce and recover men from a wicked courfe, and fometimes does: whereas the cafe of those persons would have been defperate, were it not for those principles of religion which were implanted in them by christian education, and though they were long fupprefs'd, yet did at laft awaken them to a confideration of their condition, and proved the happy means of their recovery.

3. I will not deny but there are fome perfons as bad, nay perhaps worfe, that have been bred up in the chriftian religion, than are commonly to be found

found in the darkness of paganifm; for the corruption of the best things is the worst, and those who have refifted so great a light as that of the gospel is, are like to prove the most desperately wicked of all others. There is nothing that men make worse use of, than of light and liberty, two of the best and most pleasant things in the world. Knowledge is many times abused to the worst purpose, and liberty into licentiousness and fedition; and yet no man for all that thinks ignorance defirable, or would wifh a perpetual night and darkness to the world; and conclude from the inconveniencies of abused liberty, that the beft ftate of things would be, that the generality of mankind should be all flaves to a few, and be perpetually chained to the oar, or condemned to

the mines.

SERM.

There are many times as bad confequences of good things, as of bad: but yet there is a great difference between good and bad for all that. As knowledge and liberty, fo likewife the chriftian religion is a great happiness to the world in general, though fome are fo unhappy as to be the worfe for it; not becaufe religion is bad, but because they are fo.

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4. If religion be a matter of mens free choice, it is not to be expected that it should neceffarily and conftantly have its effect upon men; for it works upon us not by way of force or natural neceffity, but of moral perfuafion. If religion, and the grace of GoD which goes along with it, did force men to be good and virtuous, and no man could be fo unlefs he were thus violently forced, then it would be no virtue in any man to be good, nor any crime and fault to be otherwife. For then the reason why some men were good, would be besaufe

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SERM. caufe they could not help it; and others bad, because CXIX. the grace of GOD did not make them fo whether they would or not.

But religion does not thus work upon men. It directs men to their duty by the shortest and plainest precepts of a good life; it perfuades men to the obedience of these precepts, by the promises of eternal happiness, and the threatnings of eternal mifery in cafe of obftinate disobedience; it offers us the affiftance of GOD'S HOLY SPIRIT, to help our weakness, and enable us to that, for which "we are "not fufficient of ourselves:" but there is nothing of violence or neceffity in all this. After all, men may disobey thefe precepts, and not be perfuaded by these arguments, may not make use of this grace which GoD offers, may " quench and re"fift the HOLY GHOST, and reject the counsel of "GOD against themselves." And the cafe being thus, it is no wonder, if the temptations of this prefent world prevail upon the vicious inclinations of men against their duty, and their true intereft; and confequently if the motives and arguments of the christian religion have not a constant and certain effect upon a great part of mankind. Not but that chriftianity is apt to bring men to goodness; but fome are fo obftinately bad, as not to be wrought upon by the most powerful confiderations it can offer to them.

5. It cannot be denied, but that christianity is as well framed to make men good, as any religion can be imagined to be; and therefore wherever the fault be, it cannot be in the chriftian religion, that we are not good. So that the bad lives of chriftians are no fufficient objection either against the truth or

good

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goodness of the christian doctrine. Befides the con- SER M. firmation that was given to it by miracles, the excellency of the doctrine, and its proper tendency to make men holy and virtuous, are a plain evidence of its divine and heavenly original. And furely the goodness of any religion confifts in the fufficiency of its precepts to direct men to their duty; in the force of its arguments to perfuade men to it; and the fuitableness of its aids and helps to enable us to the discharge and performance of it. And all those advantages the christian religion hath above any religion or inftitution that ever was in the world. The reafonable and plain rules of a good life are no where fo perfectly collected, as in the discourses of our bleffed SAVIOUR and his apoftles. No religion ever gave men fo full affurance of the mighty rewards and punishments of another world; nor fuch gracious promises of divine affiftance, and fuch evidence of it, especially in the piety, and virtue, and patience, and felf-denial of the primitive chriftians, as the doctrine of GoD our SAVIOUR hath done, "which teacheth men to deny ungodliness "and worldly lufts, and to live foberly, and righte"oufly, and godly in this prefent world, in contemplation of the bleffed hope and the glori16 ous appearance of the great GOD, and our SA"VIOUR JESUS CHRIST; who gave himself for "us, that he might redeem us from all iniqui"ty, and purify to himself a peculiar people zea"lous of good works."

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6. and lastly, After all that hath or can be said, it must be acknowledged, and ought fadly to be lamented by us, that the wicked lives of chriftians are a marvellous fcandal and reproach to our holy reli

SER M. gion, and a great obftacle to the fpreading of it CXIX in the world, and a real objection against it to

prejudiced perfons, with whom it doth juftly bring into doubt the goodness and efficacy of the inftitution it felf, to fee how little effect it hath upon the hearts and lives of men. It is hard for a man to maintain the reputation of an excellent master in any kind, when all the world fees, that most of his fcholars prove dunces. Whatever commendation may be given to any art or science, men will question the truth and reality of it, when they see the greatest part of those who profefs it, not able to do any thing anfwerable to it. The christian religion pretends to be an art of ferving God more decently and devoutly, and of living better than other men; but if it be fo, why do not the profeffors of this excellent religion fhew the force and virtue of it in their lives? and though I have fufficiently fhewn, that this is not enough to overthrow the truth and difparage the excellency of the chriftian doctrine; yet it will certainly go a great way with prejudiced perfons, and it cannot be expected otherwise.

So that we have infinite reafon to be afhamed, that there is fo plain a contrariety between the laws of christianity, and the lives of the greatest part of christians; fo notorious and palpable a difference between the religion that is in the bible, and that which is to be feen and read in the converfations of men.

Who that looks upon the manners of the present age could believe, (if he did not know it) that the holy and pure doctrine of the chriftian religion had ever been fo much as heard, much lefs pretended to be entertained and believed among us? nay among those who seem to make a more ferious profeffion

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