XIII. Ver. 21, a law, a bent and bias within him, that when he wished, ART. refolved, and endeavoured to do good, evil was prefent with him, it fprung up naturally within him; for though in his rational powers he might fo far approve the law of God as to delight in it; yet he found another law arifing 23, upon his mind from his body, which warred against the law of bis mind, and brought him into captivity to the law of fin avbich was in his members: all this made him conclude, that be was carnal, and fold under fin; and cry out, O avretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the 24, body of this death? For this be thanks God through our Lord 25. Jefus Chrift: and he fums all up in these words; So then, with the mind I myself ferve the law of God, but with the flefb the law of fin. If all this difcourfe is made by St. Paul of himself, when he had the light which a divinely inspired law gave him, he being educated in the exacteft way of that religion, both zealous for the law, and blameless in his own obfervance of it; we may from thence conclude how little reason there is to believe that a heathen, or indeed an unregenerated man, can be better than he was, and do actions that are both good in themselves, which it is not denied but that he may do; and do them in fuch a manner that there fhall be no mixture or imperfection in them, but that they fhall be perfect in a natural order, and be by confequence meritorious in a fecondary order. By all this we do not pretend to fay, that a man in that state can do nothing; or that he has no ufe of his faculties he can certainly reftrain himself on many occafions; he can do many good works, and avoid many bad ones; he can raife his understanding to know and confider things according to the light that he has; he can put himself in good methods and good circumstances; he can pray, and do many acts of devotion, which though they are all very imperfect, yet none of them will be loft in the fight of God, who certainly will never be wanting to those who are doing what in them lies, to make themfelves the proper objects of his mercy, and fit fubjects for his grace to work upon. Therefore this Article is not to be made use of to discourage men's endeavours, but only to increase their humility; to teach them not to think of themselves above measure, but foberly; to depend always on the mercy of God, and ever to fly to it. 10. AN EXPOSITION OF ARTICLE XIV. Of Works of Supererogation. Woluntarp Works, belides, over and above Cod's Commandments, which they call works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without Arrogancp and Impiety. For bp them men do declare, That they do not only render unto God as much as thep aze bound to do: but that they do moze for his fake, than of bounden Duty is requized. Whezeas Chrift faith plainly, when ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable Servants. HERE are two points that arife out of this Article to Teftament counfels of perfection given; that is to fay, fuch rules which do not oblige all men to follow them, Luke xvii. under the pain of fin; but yet are useful to carry them on to a fublimer degree of perfection, than is neceffary in order to their falvation. 2d. Whether men by following thefe do not more than they are bound to do, and by confequence, whether they have not thereby a stock of merit to communicate to others. The first of these leads to the fecond; for if there are no fuch counfels, then the foundation of Supererogation fails. Matt. xxii. 36 to 40. We deny both upon this ground, that the great obligations of loving God with all our heart, foul, Strength, and mind, and our neighbour as ourselves, which are reckoned by our Saviour the two great Commandments, on which hang all the Law and the Prophets, are of that extent, that it feems not poffible to imagine, how any thing can be acceptable to God, that does not fall within them. Since if it is acceptable to God, then that obligation to love God fo entirely muft bind us to it; for if it is a fin not to love God up to this pitch, then it is a fin not to do every thing that we imagine will please him and by confequence, if there is a degree of pleafing God, whether counfel, that we do not ftudy to attain to, we do not love precept or him in a manner fuitable to that. It feems a great many in the Church of Rome are aware of this confequence, and therefore they have taken much pains to convince the world that we are not bound to love God at all, or, as others XIV. others more cautiously word it, that we are only bound to ART. value him above all things, but not to have a love of fuch a vaft intention for him. This is a propofition that, after all their foftening it, gives so much horror to every Chriftian, that I need not be at any pains to confute it. I. We are farther required in the New Teftament, to 2 Cor. vii. cleanfe ourselves from all filthiness both of the flesh and spirit, perfecting bolinefs in the fear of God: and to reckon ourfelves bis, and not our own, and that we are bought with a 1 Cor. vi. price; and that therefore we ought to glorify him both in our 20. bodies, and in our fpirits, which are bis. Thefe and many more like expreffions are plainly precepts of general obligation, for nothing can be fet forth in more pofitive words than these are and it is not eafy to imagine, how any thing can go beyond them; for if we are Chrift's property, purchased by him, then we ought to apply ourselves to every thing in which his honour, or the honour of his religion, can be concerned, or which will be pleafing to him. : 18. Our Saviour having charged the Pharifees fo often, for adding fo many of their ordinances to the laws of God, teaching his fear by the precepts of men, and the Apoftles condemning a few of will-worship and voluntary humility, Coloff. ii. feem to belong to this matter, and to be defigned on purpose to reprefs the pride and fingularities of affected hypocrites. Our Saviour faid to him that afked, What be Matt. xix. fbould do that he might have eternal life? Keep the Com- 16, 17. mandments. Thefe words I do the rather cite, because they are followed with a paffage, that, of all others in the New Teftament, feems to look the likeft a counsel of perfection; for when he, who made the question, replied upon our Saviour's anfwer, that he had kept all thefe from Ver. 20, 21. bis youth up, and added, what lack I yet? to that our Saviour anfwered, If thou wilt be perfect, go fell all that thou baft, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in beaven; and come and follow me: and by the words that follow, of the difficulty of a rich man's entering into the kingdom of beaven, this is more fully explained. The meaning of all that whole paffage is this; Chrift called that perfon to abandon all, and come and follow him, in fuch a manner as he had called his Apoftles. So that here is no counsel, but a pofitive command given to that particular perfon upon this occafion. By perfect is only to be meant complete, in order to that to which he pretended, which was eternal life. And that alfo explains the word in that period, treafures in beaven, another expreflion for eternal life, to compenfate the lofs which he would have made by the 33. XIV. ART. the fale of his poffeffions. So that here is no counsel, but a fpecial command given to this person, in order to his own attaining eternal life. Nor is it to be inferred from hence, that this is propofed to others in the way of a counsel ; for as in cases either of a famine or perfecution, it may come to be to fome a command, to fell all in order to the relief of others, as it was in the first beginnings of Chriftianity; fo in ordinary cafes to do it, might be rather a tempting of Providence than a trusting to it, for then a man fhould part with the means of his fubfiftence, which God has provided for him, without a neceffary and preffing occafion. Therefore our Luke xii. Saviour's words, Sell that ye have, and give alms, as they are delivered in the ftrain and peremptorinefs of a command, fo they must be understood to bind as pofitive commands do not fo conftantly as a negative command does, fince in every minute of our life that binds: but there is a rule and order in our obeying pofitive commands. We must not reft on the Sabbath-day, if a work of neceffity or charity calls us to put to our hands: we must not obey our parents in difobeying a public law: fo if we have families, or the neceffities of a feeble body, and a weak conftitution, for which God hath fupplied us with that which Prov. 111. will afford us food convenient for us, we must not throw up thofe provifions, and caft ourselves upon others. There fore that precept must be moderated and expounded, so as to agree with the other rules and orders that God has fet S. a A diftinction is therefore to be made between those things that do univerfally and equally bind all mankind, and thofe things that do more fpecially bind some forts of men, and that only at fome times. There are greater degrees of charity, gravity, and all other virtues, to which the Clergy for inftance are more bound than other men; but thefe are to them precepts, and not counfels. And in the first beginnings of Chriftianity there were greater obligations laid upon all Chriftians, as well as greater gifts were bestowed on them. It is true, in the point of mar1 Cor. vii. riage St. Paul does plainly allow, that fuch as marry do well, but that fuch as marry not do better. But the meaning of that is not as if an unmarried life were a state of perfection, beyond that which a man is obliged to: but only this; that as to the course of this life, and the prefent diftrefs; and as to the judgment that is to be made of men by their actions, no man is to be thought to do amifs who marries; but yet he who marries not, is to be judged to do better. But yet inwardly and before God 38. XIV. this matter may be far otherwife; for he who marries not ART. and burns, certainly does worse than he who marries and les cbafely. But he who finding that he can limit himfelf without endangering his purity; though no law refrains him from marrying, yet feeing that he is like to be tempted to be too careful about the concerns of this life if he marries, is certainly under obligations to follow that courfe of life in which there are fewer temptations, and greater opportunities to attend on the fervice of God. With relation to outward actions, and to the judgments that from visible appearances are to be made of them, fome actions may be faid to be better than others, which yet are truly good: but as to the particular obligations that every man is under, with relation to his own ftate and circumftances, and for which he muft anfwer at the laft day, thefe being fecret, and fo not fubject to the judgments of men, certainly every man is ftrictly bound to do the best he can; to choose that course of life in which he thinks he may do the beft fervices to God and man: nor are these free to him to choose or not he is under obligations, and he fins if he fees a more excellent thing that he might have done, and contents himself with a lower or lefs valuable thing. St. Paul had wherein to glory; for whereas it was lawful for him as an Apoftle to fuffer the Corinthians to fupply him in temporals, when he was ferving them in fpiritual things; yet he chofe rather for the honour of the Gofpel, and to take away all occafion of cenfure from thofe who fought for it, to work with his Acts xx. 34. own bands, and not to be burdenfome to them. But in that! Cor. ix. ftate of things, though there was no law or outward ob- 2 Cor. xii. ligation upon him to fpare them; he was under an inward 13 law of doing all things to the glory of God: and by this law he was as much bound, as if there had been an outward compulfory law lying upon him. This diftinction is to be remembered, between fuch an obligation as arifes out of a man's particular circumftances, and fuch other motives as can be only known to a man himself, and fuch an obligation as may be faftened on him by stated and general rules: he may be abfolutely free from the latter of these, and yet be fecretly bound by thofe inward and ftronger conftraints of the love of God, and zeal for his glory. Enough feems to be faid to prove that there are no counfels of perfection in the Gofpel; that all the rules fet to us in it are in the ftyle and form of precepts; and that though there may be fome actions of more heroical virtue, and more fublime piety, than others, to which all men are not obliged by equal or ge neral 18. |