pon a moral confideration; and no morality to be found in any agent below man: the motions of all elfe, are no better than mechanick,. Now this is the foundation of scripture, exhortation, and admonition: we are to examine by reason and by argument, because God applies to reason and judgment, and to understanding, which is infeparable to choice and refolution. In fhort, a man is accomplished by two things. ft. By being enlightned in his intellectual faculties. 2dly. By being directed in his morals to re-fufe evil, and to do good; and to chufe and deter mine things according to the difference of them. The It. is the perfection of a man's understanding. The 2d. is the goodness of his mind, Phil. ii. 13. Work out your falvation with fear, for it is God that worketh in you, &c. This fuppofes a judgment of discerning; and then consequently, that God does expect, that a man, according to his apprehenfion and judgment, should chufe, refolve, and determine. Now where we are called upon to work in the affair of falvation; fee how cautiously the fcripture fpeaks of it, Phil. ii. 12. Work out your own falvation, for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his own good pleasure. From hence no body fhould be difcouraged from the fense of his own dif→ ability; nor arrogate to himself, or be prefumptuous; for God worketh in him to will and to do of his. good pleasure. If this notion were but well obferv-. ed, a great part of fome controverfies, at this day, would be refolved; for fcripture doth attribute to us that which God doth with us: that which we do is attributed to God; and that which God doth by us, is both afcribed to God, and to us; we work, and God works; we are awakened, directed, and affifted by him, so that I think there is too much heat in many controverfies, and a right stating them would extinguish them from being in the world. We see there is a direct and exact government in heavenly bodies. When did ever the fun fail? It were prodigious if it fhould: and why fhould not we,that are guided by principles of reason and illumination, (which is a far greater communication from God) why should we be fo irregular and inconfiftent, fince the lower creation is fo regular and uniform? For there is nothing of conflagration in the heavenly motions, becaufe no oppofitions and if we were uniform to principles of reason and right understanding, all motions with us would be fo, and tend to mutual information and edification, but not at all to provocation, or exasperation, one of another. Pray let me leave this notion with you, that there is a difference in things; there is that which is comely, that which is regular, decent, and directed according to rule, and the standing principle of God's creation. You see how much time I have spent in the notion, or that which is the force of the argument; we are to rejoice and give thanks, because it Is comely. The reafon lies in the quality of the thing, which doth fuppofe, that there is a difference in things; by which the atheift is excluded out of the world, and mens liberties reftrained to that which is right. 'Tis no rule to a man's actions, to do that which he : he may maintain by power and priviledge; but to do that which is fit to be done, just and right: to comply in all things with the reason of things, and the rule of right, and in all things to be according to the nature, mind and will of God, the law of juftice, the rule of right, the reafon of things. Thefe are the laws, by which we are to act and govern our lives; and we are all born under the power of them and if this be not true, this argument of the psalmist is insignificant, praise ye the Lord, for it. is comely. The reafon of things therefore, is our rule, both in religion and converse, one with ano ther; and though these are different forms of speech, yet they are always in conjunction. The reafon of the mind is by these to be directed; and indeed, all principles of religion are founded upon the fureft, most constant, and highest reafon in the world.. There is nothing fo intrinfically rational as religion is 5 nothing so self-evident, nothing that can so justify itself, or that hath such pure reafon to commend itfelf, as religion hath; for it gives an account of itfelf to our judgments and to our faculties; and this. God himself doth acknowledge, Isa. v. 3. Judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. So, I Cor., xi. 13. Judge in your felves, is it comely, &c. He, brings that for an argument, the indecency of it.. But so much for the notion, That there is a diffe-, rence in things; that good and evil are first in things a right and wrong first in things themselves. This is not arbitrary, nor imagined, nor determined by power and priviledge, but there is good and evil, comely and uncomely in things themselves. A word of this particular cafe, and I have done. Praife Praife is comely. It is nature's fenfe, 'tis the im-" port of any man's reafon: every man's mind tells him that this is decent; and no man can have peace, quiet and fatisfaction in the contrary; unless he be funk down into bafenefs, and degenerated into a fordid temper, he will acknowledge the kindness of his benefactor. Now, because God doth infinitely tranfcend all the benefactors in the world, if any man doth not acknowledge his goodness, and praise him for his benefits, he is funk down into basenefs, and fallen beneath his creation and nature. God loves us, and therefore he doth us good : we love God because we are partakers of his benefits. Now praise and thankfgiving is all the return that our neceffity and beggary is capable of: and it is. very comely for us, that are fo much beholden to the divine goodness, to make our due acknowledg¬ ments; and therefore it is observed that in ingratitude there is a connexion of all vice. All difingenuity and bafenefs are concentred in the bowels of ingratitude. He that will not be engaged by kindnefs, no cords of man will hold him. It is obferved both by God and man, as degeneracy in its ultimate iffue, the greatest depravation that nature is capable of, to be infenfible of courtefies, and not to make due acknowledgments. How often doth David complain of thofe perfons, that were obliged to him by kindness, that they turned his enemies, Pfal. xli. and xlv. he that fat at meat with me, hath lift up bis beel against me. How is he reprefented by him, as a most fordid wretched perfon, one that was degenerated to the fulleft degree? and then God him felf felf complains, Deut. xxxii. 15. Jefhurun waxed fat and kicked, he forfook God that made him, and lightly esteemed the rock of his falvation. God and man complains of the ungrateful, because all favours and courtefies are loft. Yea, 'tis well obferved, that it is the only way to make a desperate enemy, to bestow kindness upon an unthankful perfon. And this is too well known, that thofe that have been made friends by courtesy, proving false, have been the greatest betrayers. Therefore, of all perfons and tempers, the infenfible and ungrateful are the worst yea, truly, thefe are the very pefts of the world, the enemies of human nature; they harden mens hearts, who otherwife were free to do cour. tefies, because they do not know but that they may make an enemy. I will make this out (viz. the baseness of ingratitude) in these two words. 1. Because nothing is more due to God than cur gratitude; for he loadeth us with his benefits, and is pleafed to please us, and doth many things to gratify us. 2. By this we give teftimony of our minds to God; for we have nothing at all to facrifice to God, but the consent of our minds; an ingenuous acknowledgement. We have nothing to bring him, but the confent of our minds; and this the grateful perfon doth, and by this he fignifies, that if it were within his compass, he would requite the divine goodness; for 'tis not so much the gift, as the mind of the giver. He that is unthankful, is most full of himself, and apt to think that all the world was made for him, and that all men are bound to be |