Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

391 Third and faft obfervation, viz. That the practice of religion, and the doing of what we know to be our duty, is the only way to happiness; if ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them; not if ye know these things happy are ye; but if ye know and do them. Now to convince men of fo important a truth, I fhall endeavour to make out these two things:

First, That the gofpel makes the practice of religion a, neceffary condition of our happiness.

Secondly, That the nature and reafon of the thing makes it a neceffary qualification for it.

First, The gospel makes the practice of religion a neceffary condition of our happiness. Our Saviour in his first fermon, where he repeats the promife of bleffedness fo often, makes no promife of it to the mere knowledge of religion, but to the habit and practice of Chriftian graces and virtues, of meeknefs, and humility, and mercifulness, and righteoufnefs, and peaceablenefs, and purity, and patience under fufferings and perfecutions for righteousness fake. And Matth. vii. 21. our Saviour doth most fully declare, that the happiness which he promises, did not belong to thofe who made profeffion of his name, and were fo well acquainted with his doctrine, as to be able to inftruct others, if themselves in the mean time did not practife it: Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven; Many will fay unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophefied in thy name, and in thy name caft out devils, and done many wondrous works? and then will I profefs unto them, I never knew you: Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. Though they profefs to know him, yet because their lives were not answerable to the knowledge which they had of him, and his dotrine, he declares that he will not know them, but bids them depart from him. And then he goes on to fhew, that though a man attend to the doctrine of Chrift, and gain the knowledge of it; yet if it

do

do not defcend into his life, and govern his actions, all that man's hopes of heaven are fond and groundlefs; and only that man's hopes of heaven are well grounded, who knows the doctrine of Chrift, and does it, ver. 24. Whosoever heareth thefe fayings of mine, and doth them, I will liken him to a wife man who built his house upon a rock, and the rain defcended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that houfe, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these fay ings of mine, and doth them not, fhall be likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the fand, and the rain defcended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. Though a man had a knowledge of religion, as great and perfect as that which Solomon had of natural things, large as the fand upon the fea shore, yet all this knowledge fepa rated from practice would be like the fand alfo in another refpect, a weak foundation for any man to build his hopes of happinefs upon.

To the fame purpose St. Paul fpeaks, Rom. ii. 13. Not the hearers of the law are just before God; but the doers of the law fhall be justified. So likewife St. James, chap. i. 22. Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own felves; and wer. 25. Whofo looketh into the perfect law of liberty, (that is, the law or doctrine of the gospel) and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful bearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be bleffed in his deed; and therefore he adds, that the truth and reality of religion is to be meafured by the effects of it, in the government of our words, and ordering of our lives, ver. 26. If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to vifit the fatherless and widow in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. Men talk of religion, and keep a great ftir about it; but nothing will pafs for true religion before God, but the virtuous and charitable actions of

a

[ocr errors]

a good life; and God will accept no man to eternal life upon any other condition. So the Apoftle tells us most exprefly, Heb. xii. 14. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man fhall fee the Lord.

Secondly, As God hath made the practice of religion a neceffary condition of our happiness, fo the very nature and reafon of the thing makes it a neceflary qualification for it. It is neceffary that we become like to God, in order to the enjoyment of him; and nothing makes us like to God, but the practice of holiness and goodnefs. Knowledge indeed is a divine perfection; but that alone, as it doth not render a man like God, fo neither doth it dif pofe him for the enjoyment of him. If a man had the understanding of an Angel, he might for all that be a devil, he that committeth fin is of the devil and whatever knowledge fuch a man may have, he is of a devilish temper and difpofition: but every one that doth righteousness is born of God. By this we are like God, and only by our likenefs to him, do we become capable of the fight and enjoyment of him; therefore every man that hopes to be happy by the bleffed fight of God in the next life, muft endeavour after holinefs in this life. So the fame Apoftle tells us, 1 John iii. 3. Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure. A wicked temper and difpofition of mind is in the very nature of the thing, utterly inconfiftent with all reasonable hopes of heaven.

Thus I have fhewn that the practice of religion, and the doing of what we know to be our duty, is the only way to happiness.

And now the proper inference from all this is, to put men upon the careful practice of religion. Let no man content himself with the knowledge of his duty, unless he do it; and to this purpose I fhall briefly urge thefe three confiderations:

Firt, This is the great end of all our knowledge in religion, to practife what we know. The knowledge of God and of our duty hath fo effential a refpect to practice, that the fcripture will hardly al

low

low it to be properly called knowledge, unless it have an influence upon our lives, 1 John ii. 3, 4. Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that faith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

Secondly, Practice is the best way to increase and perfect our knowledge. Knowledge directs us in our practice, but practice confirms and increaseth our knowledge, John vii. 17. If any man will do the will of God, he fhall know of the doctrine. The best way to know God, is to be like him ourselves, and to have the lively image of his perfections imprinted upon our fouls; and the best way to understand the Chriftian religion, is feriously to fet about the practice of it; this will give a man a better notion of Chriftianity than any fpeculation can.

Thirdly, Without the practice of religion, our knowledge will be fo far from being any furtherance and advantage to our happiness, that it will be one of the unhappiest aggravations of our mifery. He that is ignorant of his duty, hath fome excufe to pretend for himfelf: but he that understands the Chriftian religion, and does not live according to it, hath no cloak for his fin. The defects of our knowledge, unless they be grofs and wilful, will find an eafy pardon with God: but the faults of our lives fhall be feverely punished, when we know our duty and would not do it. I will conclude with that of our Saviour, Luke xii. 47. 48. That fervant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, fhall be beaten with many Gripes; for unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required. When we come into the other world, no confideration will fting us more, and add more to the rage of our torments than this, that we did wickedly, when we underitood to have done better; and chose to make ourselves miferable, when we knew fo well the way to have been happy.

SER

SERM ON CXIV.

395

Practice in religion neceffary, in proportion to our knowledge.

LUKE xii. 47, 48.

And that fervant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, fhall be beaten with many ftripes: But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of ftripes, fhall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomfoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

I

N profecution of the argument which I handled in my laft difcourfe, namely, that the knowledge of our duty, without the practice of it, will not bring us to happiness, I fhall proceed to fhew, that if our practice be not answerable to our knowledge, this will be a great aggravation both of our fin and punishment.

And to this purpose, I have pitched upon these words of our Lord, which are the application of two parables, which he had delivered before, to ftir up men to a diligent and careful practice of their duty, that fo they may be in a continual readiness and preparation for the coming of their Lord. The first parable is more general, and concerns all men, who are reprefented as fo many fervants in a great family, from which the Lord is abfent, and they being uncertain of the time of his return, fhould always be in a condition and pofture to receive him. Úpon the hearing of this parable, Peter enquires of our Saviour, whether he intended this only for his difciples, or for all? To which question our Saviour returns an answer in another parable, which more particularly concerned them; who because they were to be

the

« ForrigeFortsæt »