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expofed it; especially Scotus: and he defigned to do fo; as any man that attentively reads him, may plainly discover: for, in his disputation about it, he treats this doctrine with the greatest contempt, as a new invention of the council of Lateran under Pope Innocent III.; to the decree of which council concerning it he seems to pay a formal fubmiffion, but really derides it as contrary to the common sense and reason of mankind, and not at all fupported by fcripture; as any one may eafily difcern that will carefully confider his manner of handling it, and the refult of his whole difputation about it.

And now, fuppofe there were fome appearance of abfurdity and contradiction in the doctrine of the Trinity as it is delivered in fcripture, muft we therefore believe a doctrine which is not at all revealed in scripture, and which hath certainly in it all the abfurdities in the world, and all the contradictions to fenfe and reason, and which, once admitted, doth at once deftroy all certainty? Yes, fay they, why not? fince we of the church of Rome are fatisfied that this doctrine is revealed in fcripture; or, if it be not, is defined by the church, which is every whit as good. But is this equal, to demand of us the belief of a thing which hath always been controverted, not only between us and them, but even among themselves, at lcaft till the council of Trent; and this upon fuch unreasonable terms, that we muft either yield this point to them, or elfe renounce a doctrine agreed on both fides to be revealed in fcripture ?

To fhew the unreasonableness of this proceeding, let us fuppofe a priest of the church of Rome preffing a Jew or Turk to the belief of tranfubftantiation, and because one kindness deferves another, the Jew or Turk fhould demand of him the belief of all the fables in the Talmud, or in the Alchoran; fince none of these, nor indeed all of them together, are near so abfurd as tranfubftantiation: would not this be much more reasonable and equal than what they demand of us; fince no abfurdity, how monftrous and big foever, can be thought of, which may not enter into an understanding in which a breach hath been already made wide enough to admit transubstantiation? The priests of Baal did not half fo much deferve to be expofed by the Prophet for their fuperftition and

folly

folly, as the priests of the church of Rome do for this fenfelefs and ftupid doctrine of theirs with a hard name. I fhall only add this one thing more, that if this doctrine were poffible to be true, and clearly proved to be fo; yet it would be evidently useless, and to no purpose. For it pretends to change the fubftance of one thing into the fubftance of another thing that is already, and before this change is pretended to be made. But to what purpose? Not to make the body of Chrift; for that was already in being: and the fubftance of the bread is loft; nothing of it remaineth but the accidents, which are good for nothing, and indeed are nothing, when the substance is destroyed and gone.

All that now remains, is, to make some practical inferences from this doctrine of the unity of the divine nature. And they fhall be the fame which God himself makes by Mofes, Deut. vi. 4. 5.; which text is also cited by our Saviour, Mark xii. 29. 30. 31. Hear, O Ifrael, the Lord our God is one Lord. And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart,..and with all thy foul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy ftrength. And thou fhalt love thy neighbour as thyfelf. So that, according to our Saviour, the whole duty of man, the love of God, and of our neighbour, is founded in the unity of the divine nature.

1. The love of God: The Lord our God is one Lord; therefore thou shalt love him with all thine heart, &c. This is the firft and great commandment. And it comprehends in it all the duties of the first table, as naturally flowing from it; as, that we should serve him only, and pay no religious worship to any but to him: for to pay religious worship to any thing, is to make it a God, and to acknowledge it for fuch; and therefore God being but one, we can give religious worship to none but to him only. And among all the parts of religious worship, none is more peculiarly appropriated to the Deity than folemn invocation and prayer: for he to whom men address their requests, at all times, and in all places, muft be fuppofed to be always every where prefent, to understand all our defires and wants, and to be able to fupply them; and this God only is, and can do.

So likewife from the unity of the divine nature may

be

fen

be inferred, that we fhould not worship God by any fible image or reprefentation; because God being a fingular being, there is nothing like him, or that can, without injuring and debafing his moft fpiritual, and perfect, and immenfe being, be compared to him; as he himself speaks in the Prophet, If. xlvi. 5. To whom will ye liken me, faith the Lord, and make me equal? And therefore with no diftinction whatsoever can it be lawful to give religious worship, or any part of it, to any but God. We can pray to none but to him, because he only is every where prefent, and only knows the hearts of all the children of men, 1 Kings viii. 39. ; which Solomon gives as the reason why we should addrefs our supplications to God only, who dwelleth in the heavens.

So that the reason of these two precepts is founded in the unity and fingularity of the divine nature; and, unless there be more gods than one, we must worship him only, and pray to none but him; because we can give invocation to none, but to him only whom we believe to be God; as St. Paul reafons, Rom. x. 14. How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed?

2. The love likewife of our neighbour is founded in the unity of the divine nature, and may be inferred from it: Hear, O Ifrael, the Lord our God is one Lord; therefore thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. And the Apoftle gives this reafon why Chriftians fhould be at unity among themselves, Eph. iv. 6. There is one God and Father of all; and therefore we fhould keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; that is, live in mutual love and peace. The Prophet likewife affigns this reafon why all mankind fhould be upon good terms with one another, and not be injurious one to another, Mal. ii. 10. Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?

And therefore, when we fee fuch hatred and enmity among men, fuch divifions and animofities among Chriftians, we may not only afk St. Paul's queftion, Is Chrift divided, that we cannot agree about ferving him; either all to serve him in one way, or to bear with one another in our differences? I fay, we may not only afk St. Paul's question, Is Christ divided? but may ask further, Is God divided?

divided? Is there not one God? and are we not all his offspring? Are we not all the fons of Adam, who was the fon of God? So that, if we trace ourselves to our original, we shall find a great nearness and equality among men. And this equality, that we are all God's creatures and image, and that the one only God is the father of us all, is a more real ground of mutual love, and peace, and equity in our dealings one with another, than any of those petty differences and distinctions, of strong and weak, of rich and poor, of wife and foolish, of bafe and honourable, can be to encourage men to any thing of infolence, injuftice, and ineqality of dealing one towards another: because that wherein we all agree, that we are the creatures and children of God, and have all one common father, is effential and conftant; but those things wherein we differ, are accidental and mutable, and happen to one another by turns.

Thus much may fuffice to have been spoken concern. ing the first propofition in the text, There is one God. To him, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, be all honour, and glory, dominion, and power, now and for ever. Amen.

SERMON XLIX.

Concerning refolution and stedfaftnefs in religion.

Preached at St. Lawrence-Jewry, June 3. 1684.

The PREFACE to the Reader.

Bing, I hope, for the remainder of my life, released

from that irksome and unpleasant work of controverfy and wrangling about religion, I shall now turn my thoughts to fomething more agreeable to my temper, and of a more direct and immediate tendency to the promoting of true reli-,

gion, to the happiness of human fociety, and the reformation of the world.

I have no intention to reflect upon any that stand up in defence of the truth, and contend carneftly for it, endeavouring in the fpirit of meeknefs to reclaim thofe that are in error. For I doubt not but a very good man may upon feveral occafions be almost unavoidably engaged in controverfies of religion; and if he have a head clear and cool enough, So as to be mafter of his own notions and femper in that hot kind of fervice, he may therein do confiderable advantage to the truth: though a man that hath once drawn blood in controversy, as Mr. Mede expreffeth it, is feldom known ever perfectly to recover his own good temper afterwards.

For this reafon, a good man should not be very willing, when his Lord comes, to be found fo doing, and as it were beating his fellow-fervants. And all controverfy, as it is ufually managed, is little better. A good man would be loth to be taken out of the world reeking hot from a sharp contention with a perverfe adverfary; and not a little out of countenance, to find himself in this temper tranflated into the calm and peaceable regions of the bleed, where nothing but perfect charity and good-will reign for ever.

I know not whether St. Paul, who had been taken up into the third heavens, did by that question of his, Where is the difputer of THIS WORLD? intend to infinuate, that this wrangling work hath place only in this world, and upon this earth, where only there is a duft to be raifed; but will have no place in the other. But whether St. Paul intended this or not, the thing itself I think is true, that in the other world all things will be clear, and paft difpute To be fure, among the bleed; and probably alfo among the miferable, unless fierce and furious contentions, with great beat without light, about things of no moment and concernment to them, fhould be defigned for a part of their torment.

As to the following fermons, I am fenfible that the style of them is more loafe and full of words, than is agreeable to juft and exact difcourfes; but fo I think the ftyle of popular fermons ought to be: and therefore I have not been very careful to mend this matter; chufing rather that they should appear in that native fimplicity in which, fo many years ago, they were firft framed, than dressed up with too much care VOL. III.

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