A sermon preach'd before the Queen at White-Hall, May the Xth. M.DC.XC.I by William Wake ...

A sermon preach'd before the Queen at White-Hall, May the Xth. M.DC.XC.I by William Wake ...

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Hebr. iv. 1.‘Let us therefore fear, lest a Promise being left us of Entring into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.’

THese Words are the Application of the Apostle's Discourse in the foregoing Chapter. He had there entred on a Parallel betwixt Moses and Christ; between the Promises which the One made of a Temporal Inheritance to the Jews heretofore, and the Assurance which the Other has given of an Eternall Reward to Us now. But as they notwithstanding those Promises, yet by their Sins and their Infidelity came short of them and perished in the Wilderness, so may this be our Case too. God has indeed called us to a Glorious Hope of Everlasting Happiness. He has given us all the Security we can desire that we shall. One day be made partakers of it. But yet there are Conditions required on our parts too, both to Qualifie us for this Happiness, and to Intitle us unto it: And if we neglect to fulfil them, we shall as certainly fail of Ours, as ever they did of Their Expectations.

[Page] Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entring into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.

For the inforcing of which Exhortation, I shall observe this Method.

Ist. I will shew, that God has left us a Promise of Entring into his Rest; a Promise enough to satisfie all our Desires, and to engage our heartiest Endeavours after it.

IIdly. That nevertheless we may by our own fault come short of this Promise.

IIIdly. That therefore we ought to be very fearful and sollicitous lest we should do so.

IVthly. That the best way to secure this Promise to our selves, is to take the Advice of the Text, and live in a continual fear of coming short of it.

And Ist, That God has left us a Promise of Entring into his rest; a Promise enough to satisfie all our Desires, and to engage our heartiest Endeavours after it.

This is that great fundamental Principle upon which not only the present Exhortation, but in effect the whole Gospel of Christ is built. Whatsoever our Blessed Saviour either did or suffered whilst he was on Earth himself, or commanded [Page] us to do or suffer after his Example; All the Precepts, all the Revelations of the Gospel, are but one continued Argument to convince us of this Truth. Insomuch that what St. Paul once said to the Corinthians concerning that other great 1 Cor. xv. 14. Article of our Creed, the beginning of our Hope, and preparatory to our Glory, The Resurrection of the Body; I may no less apply here to this other of the Life Everlasting consequent upon it: If there be no such thing as Another Life after this, wherein we shall either receive the Everlasting Reward of our Piety, or suffer the Eternal Punishment of our Sins; Then is our Preaching Vain, and your Faith also is Vain. The whole Business of Religion is a meer Cheat and Illusion; Let us Eat and Drink, for to morrow we —32. Die.

But Blessed be God who has not left us the least room to doubt, in a matter of such importance as this is to us: But has given us such noble Descriptions, such repeated Assurances of our Future Happiness, as may abundantly suffice both to satisfie all our Scruples concerning it, and to ravish our Souls into the most earnest Longings and Desires after it. And tho' neither the weakness of our Capacities, nor the Method of the present Discourse will permit me to speak either very [Page] much, or very clearly concerning it: yet I shall endeavour at lest to give such an Account of the Rest here spoken of as may serve to answer the Design of the Argument. I have undertaken; And shew with what Good reason the Apostle here exhorts us to fear lest such a Promise as this being set before us, we should any of us be so unhappy as to come short of it.

Now two things there are that will be necessary to be consider'd by Us in Order to this End: (1st.) The Greatness, and (2dly.) the Certainty of our Future Reward. That the promise which God has left us of entring into his Rest is as excellent in it self, as it shall be most surely made good to us, if we live so as to render our selves Worthy of it: And therefore ought, upon both these Accounts, to engage us to use our utmost diligence not to come short of it.

(1st.) For the former of these, The Greatness of that Reward which God has promised to us in the Gospel: It is a Subject worthy indeed of all our Consideration, but impossible ever to be fully comprehended by Us, till we our selves shall come to the Enjoyment of it. Even St. Paul himself, though admitted to the nearest Contemplation of it that ever any Man [Page] was, yet could not find out any Expressions that would serve him to communicate his Idea's of it to us. He tells us that being caught up into Paradise, He heard Words unspeakable, and which it is not possible for a Man to utter 2 Cor. xii. 4. And all he could do was but to declare with Isaiah on the like Occasion, 1 Cor. ii. 9. That neither Eye has seen, nor Ear heard, neither have entred into the Heart of Man the things which God hath prepared for Them that love him.

And indeed it is, I think, none of the least Commendations of the Glories of the Other World, that they are not possibly to be comprehended by Us in this. That their Excellency so far transcends all the Notions of Happiness we have ever been acquainted with here, that we cannot from thence take any Measure whereby to judge of our Eternal Reward. But that after all our most enlarged Thoughts, when we shall have given the utmost scope to our Imaginations; have ranged through all the highest Instances of innocent and un-mix'd Felicity that we have ever heard of in this life: nay, when we shall have done yet more, shall have indulged our very Fancies and Desires to invent some new Happiness beyond whatever any One could possibly have enjoyed in this imperfect state of Mortality; We may even then [Page] venture to say, that what God has prepared for them that fear him is somewhat exceedingly beyond all this: Tho' what it is we are no more able particularly to declare, than we are to measure Omnipotence; or to define what an Infinitely Good and Great God is able to do for them that Love Him, and whom therefore he both Loves, and will Bless and Glorifie together with Himself to all Eternity.

But then as in speaking of God Himself, tho we cannot comprehend his Nature, yet by putting together the highest Idea's that we have of Infinite Perfection, we do endeavour to raise up our Souls into some suitable Apprehensions of it: So here, it has pleased God to give such General Descriptions to us of the Glories of the Other World, as may suffice to let us into some imperfect Knowledge of it; and be more than enough both to raise our Desires, and to quicken our Endeavours after it.

For 1st. We are told that Heaven is a place free from all Trouble and Misery; from all those Hopes and Fears, those Dangers and Disappointments, in a word, from all those Evils and Calamities that continually disturb us here, and render our highest Enjoyments very flat and insipid to us.

[Page] This is what our Apostle insinuates, when he calls it by the name of a Rest: Let us fear, says he, lest a Promise being left us of entring into his Rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. And again, Verse 19. There remaineth therefore a Rest for the people of God. But St. John more expresly, Revel. xxi. 4. where speaking of the New Jerusalem, our City which is above, He tells us that There God shall wipe away all Tears from our Eyes, and there shall be no more any Death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.

Here we live in a Vale of Misery, exposed to Tryals, and encompassed with Troubles on every side. He who is the most fortunate among us, is yet forced to measure his Happiness rather by the frequent Intervals he enjoys of Comfort and Satisfaction, than by any absolute Freedom from all Evil and Misery. We come into the World with a Cry, and go out of it with a Groan, and the Time we pass from the one of these Periods to the other, is for the most part fill'd up with little else than a melancholy Series of Sighs and Tears, of Doubts and Uncertainties; of Uneasiness at what is present, and Fearful Apprehensions of what is to come. So that were we to look no farther than the present Condition of mankind, one [Page] might almost be tempted to ask with Job, Ch. iii. 20. Wherefore is light given to him that is in masery, and life to the Bitter in Soul? Which look for Death and it cometh not, and dig for it more than for hid treasures? Who rejoyce exceedingly, and long when they can see the Grave? There the wicked cease from troubling, and there the weary be at rest. There the Prisoners rest together, they hear not the Voice of the Oppressor.

But when we come to Heaven, there we shall find a perfect Deliverance out of all our Troubles. No pains or Diseases, no Weakness or Infirmity shall disturb our Bodies; No Lusts or Passions, no irregular Appetites or Desires shall discompose our Souls, there shall be nothing to interrupt or lessen our Enjoyments. Heaviness may endure for the Night of this World, but when the Blessed Morning of Eternity shall spring forth, then pure Joy, and an un-mix'd Felicity shall spring up with it; and nothing remain but the memory of our former Troubles, the more to increase our Comfort and Satisfaction in that Absolute deliverance we shall then have obtain'd from them.

This is the first part of that Character which the Holy Scriptures have given us of our Future State, It is a State free from all Evil and Misery: And how considerable a Blessing this [Page] is, if the sense of our present Evils be not sufficient to inform us, I shall leave it to the Authority of St. John to tell you, Revel. xiv. 13. where He makes use of this as an Argument to strengthen the Christians of those times in the enduring of any Tryals that could fall upon them for their Religion, that they should in a little time be perfectly deliver'd from all their Miseries; I heard a Voice from Heaven, saying unto me, Write, from Henceforth Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord; yea, saith the Spirit, for they Rest from their Labours, and their Works do follow them.

But this is not yet all, for 2dly; When we come to Heaven we shall not only be set free from all other Evils, but from that which is the great Source and Foundation of all our Miseries, from Sin too: And from all those Consequences of it which now fill our Souls with so many sad Reflections, and make all our present Enjoyments a meer Dream and a Vision, the appearances of Happiness, rather than any real and solid Satisfaction, viz. the Fear of Death, and the Apprehension of Damnation.

Here we live in a continual State of War and Danger: Difficulties and Temptations encompass us on every side; and when we think we stand the most securely, yet even then we [Page] cannot tell how soon, or how dangerously we may fall. The Flesh and the Spirit, those contrary Principles of which we are composed, still dividing us between our Desires and our Duty; and forcing us often times when we the most stedfastly resolve, and the most earnestly endeavour to live well, yet to encounter no small difficulties in the doing of it: And in the sense thereof to cry out with St. Paul, Rom. vii. 24. O Wretched Men that we are, who shall deliver us from the Body of this Death!

But Heaven is a place Innocent as it is Glorious: There all these Conflicts shall have an End. No Lusts or Passions, no Dangers or Temptations, shall either draw us from our Piety, or put us to the least pain for the fulfilling of it. But it shall be our Meat and Drink, the Desire and Bent of our Affections to live Innocently: And what David once said of Himself, be much more perfectly accomplish'd in all of us, Psal. xl. 8. Our delight is to do thy will O God! yea, thy law is within our Hearts.

It is one great part of that account which St. John every where gives us of the Blessed in Heaven, that they spend their whole Time in little else than a continued Exercise of Piety and Devotion. In praising God, and admiring his Perfections, and celebrating his Goodness. But [Page] especially, in the most Elevated Returns of Love and Gratitude, of Joy and Thanksgiving to Him for the great Work of our Redemption; and for all those Miracles of Mercy by which they have been delivered from Sin and Hell, and translated to such a blessed State of Happiness and Glory.

And indeed what wonder if this shall be the Great Business of our Lives there, when as the same St. John tells us we our selves shall be made like unto him. Pure and Holy, Enemies 1 Jo. iii. 2. to Sin, and to all those Temptations that have heretofore been wont to lead us into Sin. And being thus made like unto God in Holiness, we shall become like him in Happiness too. For then Death and Hell shall be destroy'd; They shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, Revel. xx. 14. And we shall sing for ever that triumphant Song of St. Paul, 1 Cor. xv. 55. O Death, where is thy Sting? O Grave, where is thy Victory?—Thanks be to God who hath given Us the Victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But 3dly, and to go yet farther; We shall not only then be set free from all our Troubles and Miseries, from whatsoever is any way Grievous or Afflicting to us in this World: But we shall in stead thereof be blessed in a full Enjoyment of the most perfect Happiness that our [Page] Condition shall then be Capable of, and that is a Great deal more than we are now able to conceive.

For, 1st. Our Bodies, which here are the Weight and Burden of our Souls, neither to be supported without Care, nor kept under without Trouble, and which when we have done all that we can, will yet many times afflict us with Pains and Diseases, Weaknesses and Infirmities: Sometimes expose us to grievous Temptations, and too often betray us into the Greatest Sins; to be fure always so clog and depress us, that we shall at best be able to rise up but to very imperfect Discharges of our Duty, shall then be Glorified, and rendred a Habitation fit for so Divine a Spirit to dwell in. So our Apostle tells us, 1 Cor. xv. 43. This Corruptible, says he, shall put on Incorruption, this Mortal, Immortality. We shall not only receive our Bodies again out of the Dust, but we shall receive them in Greater Beauty and Perfection, than ever they were before. They shall rise out of their Graves, as the Sun arises from beyond the Mountains of the East; Bright and Shining: Or rather as the Body of our Blessed Saviour when he appeared to St. Paul on his way to Damascus, Acts ix. and in comparison See Acts xxvi. 13. whereof the very Sun it self seem'd to be but Dim and Obscure.

[Page] And as, our Bodies shall be thus Glorified, so our Souls, and all the powers and faculties of them, shall be no less enlarged. Now we know 1 Cor. xiii. 12. in part, and see as through a Glass darkly: He that is the Wisest amongst us, and has made the Best Progress in Learning, is yet ignorant of a Great deal more than he knows, and in what he thinks he understands the best, is often times mistaken. But then we shall see face to face, and know even as also we are known. All the Mysteries of our Faith, and the Secrets of our Redemption shall be laid open to Us: And those Disputes which now so unhappily divide the Church, and disquiet the Minds of the Best Christians, be for ever Determined; not by Force, but Conviction, not by Canons and Definitions, but by an Evident Light, and a clear and distinct Perception.

This shall be the state of our Understandings in the Other World, nor shall our Wills be any less perfected. There shall be no Repugnancy to the Service of God; No Passions or Appetites to Cross or Encounter in the fulfilling of it. We shall be all Flame, and Love, and Devotion: Shall flee to our Duty with the Ardors of Seraphim, and shall feel such new and unspeakable Joys arising in our Souls from the performance of it, as now we are not able to [Page] conceive. Only perhaps some pious Votary may now and then have felt some Antepasts of them; when having either overcome some great and violent Temptation, or else fulfilled some noble instance of Duty, he finds in Himself such a Serenity of Mind, such sweetness and satisfaction of Spirit proceeding from the Consideration of it, as exceeds all the Sensual Pleasures of the most Exquisite Voluptuary: But which alas! are as far short of that perpetual Joy and Comfort we shall then live in, as the best of our Performances here, are exceedingly inferiour to what the constant discharges of our Piety shall be there.

And being thus prepared for a full Draught of Happiness, we shall not fail to enjoy the largest Portion that we can even wish for of it.

What the particular Ingredients of our future Felicity shall be, I am not able to say. But this we know, that We shall live in the Presence Psal. xvi. 11. of God, in whose Presence there is fulness of joy, and at whose right hand there are pleasures for Evermore. We shall Converse with Angels, and be translated to the General Assembly and Church of Heb xii. 23. the First Born, and to the Spirits of just Men made perfect.

[Page] There we shall meet with all those Great and Wise, those Holy and Excellent Persons who in their several Ages have made up the Glory and Ornament of the Church Militant on Earth, and now shine as Stars in the Church Triumphant in Heaven. Whose Vertuous Lives and Patient Sufferings, we have either read or heard of with so much Wonder and Satisfaction. By whose Learning we have profited; whose Disciples we have professed our selves; and whose Examples we have look'd up unto, both for our Imitation and our Encouragement.

There we shall again be restored to our Friends and our Relations, whom we have here left with so much sorrow and bitterness. There we shall behold the Blessed Apostles of our Lord and Saviour, and all the rest of that Noble Army of Martyrs and Confessors by whose constant Labours, and patient Sufferings, the Gospel first became publish'd to the World; and to whom therefore as fellow-workers with Christ, we our selves have in part been indebted for our own Salvation. And lastly, to compleat all; There we shall meet with the Blessed Jesus Himself, the Great Shepherd of the Sheep, the Author and Finisher of our Faith, by whose Bloud we were Redeemed, by whose Grace we [Page] have been Sanctify'd, and by whose Merits and Intercession we shall have then attain'd to all this Glory.

This is that Company to which we shall be translated, when we come to die. And then, think if you can what an unspeakable Happiness it must needs be to us to pass from the vain Conversation of a peevish, and wicked World, to such an admirable Society as this: From the Follies and Disorders of sinful and frail Men, to the wise and innocent and endearing Conversation of Saints and Angels.

I shall not for the farther improving of these reflections trouble you with any Uncertain Conjectures, of the rare Discourses, the Glorious Entertainments, the sincere Friendships, we may there expect to meet with. What new transports of Joy shall fill our Souls, when we shall begin to consider the Temptations we have overcome, the Dangers we have escaped, and the various Troubles we have pass'd through in our Pilgrimage here on Earth; and compare all these with that Peace and Glory we shall then Enjoy in the Kingdom of Heaven.

But one thing there is that must not be pass'd by, and that is, that being now instated in all this Great Felicity, we shall at the same time become secure of an Everlasting Enjoyment [Page] of it: That Our Glory shall be Eternal, and our Reward no man shall take from Us. For tho' this be but a Circumstance, and so do's not enter into the Nature of our Happiness, yet it is such a Circumstance, that Heaven it self would hardly be compleat without it. But the Greater our Enjoyments were, the more it would trouble us to think that the Time was coming when all this mighty Treasure should be exhausted; and We should either altogether cease to be, or which is worse, should be divested of our present Happiness, and become again as poor, and sinful, and destitute, and miserable, as once we were, or rather to speak more sensibly, as we now are. Whereas now, we may without all Anxiety freely rejoyce in the Blessings we shall enjoy, and take no thought for the future: Being assured that our Felicity is founded upon the Rock of Ages; Permanent as Eternity; Firm and Stable as that God from whom it flows; in whom there is no variableness, neither shadow James I. 17. of turning, and with whom we also shall continue 1 Thess. iv. 17. for Ever and Ever.

This is that Rest of which our Text speaks: and of this

[Page] (2dly.) We shall most certainly be made Partakers, if we live so as we ought to do.

For God being not only most True and Faithful in all his Promises, and therefore uncapable of deceiving us, but most Powerful too, and therefore able to Do whatever he pleases for us; It cannot be doubted but that what He has promised, shall most assuredly be made good to us: And therefore that if such a Rest as this be indeed set before Us by Him, we may and ought to depend upon it as a faithful Saying, and worthy of all Men to be received. 1 Tim I. 15.

Now that the Holy Scriptures have encouraged us to expect such a Rest is so very plain, that I do not see how any one can have the Confidence to doubt of it. They have not only assured us that there shall be a final Judgment, and an Irrevocable Sentence of Happiness or Misery pass'd upon all Mankind, according to what they shall have done, whether Good or Evil: But they have moreover declared to us, that it was for this very Purpose that our Blessed Saviour came into the World, that He Died and was Buried, and Rose again from the Dead, that He might both Purchase this Great Reward for us, and receive full Power and Authority to confer it upon us. Either therefore we must say that all this [Page] is meer Fable and Romance; that the whole Business of Christianity is but an Idle Story, that has nothing of Truth or Reality in it: Or if we think the Gospel to deserve any Credit, we must conclude that this Promise shall stand Firm and Immutable as that God who made it, That if we live according to the Rules of our Religion, we shall receive the Reward of it; that Eternal Rest of which our Text here speaks, and which I have now been endeavouring to describe to you.

It remains then that there is without all Doubt a Blessed Expectation reserved for us in another. Life: but then,

IIdly. It is as certain, that we may by our own fault Come short of it.

For the Promise of this Rest is not Absolute, but Conditional. It depends upon a Covenant in which there are Duties to be fulfill'd on Our Part, as well as a Reward to be made Good, on God's: And if we fail in the One, there is no reason to expect that He should perform the Other.

When our Saviour sent forth his Disciples to preach these Glad Tidings of Salvation to the World, we read in St. Mark that their Commission [Page] ran in these Terms, Mark xvi. 15. Go ye into all the World, and preach the Gospel to Every Creature: He that Believeth and is Baptized shall be Saved, but He that Believeth not, shall be Damn'd. And what it is we are there to understand by Believing, we may see in the Parallel place of St. Matthew, Ch. xxviii. 20. Go ye and Teach all Nations, Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to Observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. And from both which the conclusion is very plain, that if we mean to be Saved, we must not only enter our selves into the Church of Christ by Baptism; but being so admitted, must Believe and Do whatsoever he hath required of Us: And without which we shall be so far from having any right to these Promises, that we shall incur the Greater Damnation for our Sins.

But this is not yet all; For if the Case be so as I have now shewn it to be, If the Promise of this Rest be Conditional, and we are no Otherwise intituled to the Blessings than as we are careful to fulfil the Duties of the Gospel: Then I must add, that We may not only by our own fault come short of it, but that without a Great deal of Care we most certainly shall do so; And therefore ought the more to Fear lest [Page] we should fall from such Divine and Glorious Expectations.

The Righteousness of the Gospel, and that Universal Obedience which it requires of us in order to our Salvation, is not a Work of Common and Ordinary Attainment. It calls us to a Great deal more than many of us, I fear, are aware of, I am sure than most of us practise. To a Piety that has startled the Consciences of the most perfect Votaries; and once made even the Apostles themselves cry out, Who then can be Mat. xix. 25. saved? Those Severe Duties of Mortification and Self-Denyal, of Taking up the Cross, and Following Christ, were never designed for meer Pomp and Shew; only to exalt the Credit of the Gospel, and make it the more admired in the World: But as Helps and Assistances, to conquer our Passions, to confirm us against all the Temptations of a Wicked World, and to raise us up to the utmost degree of Piety, that our Condition would admit of in it; For the Tryals of our Faith, and the Exercise of our Patience, and in short, to Fit us for Heaven, before they carried us to it.

Men may live as they please, and content themselves with a formal and superficial Piety; and think it very well that they stand in the same Rank with the Generality of the World, [Page] and have as Good Pretences to Heaven as their Neighbours. But the Commands of God are not to be Evacuated by the Wickedness of Men. God has plainly set before us the Terms of our Salvation; What we are to Believe, and what to Do, if Ever we mean to attain unto it. And if notwithstanding this, Men will be careless and negligent in their Duty; Scepticks in their Faith, and Atheists in their Practice: If they will scoff at the Revelations, and despise the Morals of Christianity; laugh at the Divinity of our Saviour Christ and the Holy Ghost, and Live so as if they did not believe there was any God at all: Let them applaud themselves, if they please, in their profane Drollery, and strengthen One Another in Wickedness; but let them know assuredly that there is a Time coming when neither their Number shall Defend, nor their Sophistry excuse them; But for All these things Eccles. xi. 9. God will bring them to Judgment.

Seeing then we not only may, but without great care we most certainly shall come short of that Rest which God has prepared for Us, it will I think very much behove us all

IIIdly. To take the Advice of the Text, and Fear lest we should chance so to do.

[Page] This is the Apostle's own Inference in the Words before us, and such as I think naturally arises from the foregoing Considerations. For since it has pleased God to call us to such a Great and Precious Promise, as I have before shew'd the Rest here spoken of to imply; to a Perfection of Glory and Happiness which neither any Tongue can utter, nor any Thought conceive: What can be more reasonable than that we should make it our utmost Endeavour, the Great Business and Concern of our Lives Earnestly to aspire after it, and by all means to Qualifie our selves for the obtaining of it?

The truth is, were we to discourse of this Matter only upon the Principles of right Reason, and according to the Common Bent and Inclination of our Natures, without any regard to the Practice of Mankind; One might justly think that instead of arguing with Men upon this Subject, we ought rather to Apologize for the Absurdity of making that an Exhortation, which every Man must do whether He will or no. Happiness is that which all Men Desire, and therefore must needs Endeavour to attain unto. And to exhort Men to be Happy, to pursue that which is to raise them to the highest pitch of Felicity that their Condition is capable of: What is this, but as if one should go about to [Page] argue with a Covetous Wretch not to neglect a fair Opportunity of growing Rich, or with a loose Voluptuary, to Eat and Drink, and fill his Soul with sensual Satisfactions; that is, to endeavour by Reason to incline them to that, which their own Appetites, beyond all the Reason in the World, hurry them on to.

And yet tho' all this be most certainly True, that we do all of us Naturally desire that which will make us Happy; and it cannot be doubted but that 'tis this Rest, this Eternal Reward, in which above any thing the Felicity of Man does consist: I know not how, there is scarce any thing which Men Generally so much neglect, or so little seem to trouble themselves about as This. As if the whole Business of Religion were indeed no more, than what some profane Men have call'd it, a piece of State-Contrivance, a Device to keep Fearful and Superstitious People in Awe: And the Gospel-Promise of a Future-State, a Refinement only upon the Old Poetick Hypotheses of Elysian Fields, and I know not what other Dreams of Happiness, no where to be found but in their Numbers.

Tell a Man how to establish his Present Fortunes, shew him the way how he may accomplish his Ends in what he aims at in this World; and tho' perhaps the utmost of His Ambition [Page] be but to gain some little Estate, or Honour, or Advancement, which can neither reward his Pains, nor satisfie his Desires; yet you shall not fail to meet with a very ready Attention from Him. He will receive your Instructions with Greediness, and if they carry but never so little a Probability with them, you shall need no Perswasives to put him upon the practice of them.

But now speak to the same person of the Vast Concerns of Heaven and Eternity; Exhort him to consider how short and uncertain his Life here is, how fast it runs away, and in how little a Time the whole Stock of it will be exhausted; and that then He must appear before the 2 Cor. v. 10. Judgment-Seat of Christ, to receive the things done in the Body according to what He shall have done whether Good or Evil: And tho' by an Affectionate Application you may chance to warm Him for the present, or even force him, with Felix, to tremble at the thoughts of a Judgment to come; tho' your Arguments be strong, and his own Conscience concurs vvith you to satisfie Him that these things are so as you represent them to Him; yet all the Effect shall be but this, that He vvill grow vveary of the Admonition, and be uneasie till he can get away from you; and no sooner is he at liberty, but he begins presently [Page] to think how he may shake off those dull and melancholy Apprehensions your Discourse has raised in his Mind; and then He becomes the very same Man that He was before, goes on again in his Sins and Debauches, and never considers that the End will be that He shall perish for ever.

Now this being the General Neglect and Security in which Men live, it cannot certainly but be very proper, not only to Exhort them sometimes to a greater Care; but if it be possible, to convince them too of the Grounds they have to fear, whither such an Incogitancy as this will carry them?

And Ist. If their Indifference in this Matter proceeds from a real Belief that there is no such thing as Another Life after this, nor any Account to be given to God of all our Actions; that there is neither any such Eternal Portion of Happiness to be enjoy'd, or of Punishment to be undergone, as we have been told there is: This I confess will make their Neglect the more Rational; and we ought not to wonder, if they are not afraid of coming short of a Reward, which they do not believe was ever to be attain'd by them.

[Page] But then at least they ought to be very sure that their Belief, or rather Infidelity, as to this Point is well-grounded, before they venture the Everlasting welfare of their Souls upon it. For not to say any thing of those Assurances which the Gospel has given us of our Future State, and the Authority whereof is founded upon such strong and convincing Arguments, that we see the greatest part of the Wisest Men in all Ages have thought there was no reasonable Exception to be made against it.

Do they believe that there is a God? That this World was not made without some Cause to produce it, nor is now Govern'd and Preserved without some Superiour Power to overlook and order the Affairs of it? This I am sure the Gentiles themselves have generally acknowledged, and I much question whether there was ever any Man so void of all Reason, as to be able seriously to make a Doubt of it.

But if there be a God, and if His Providence does overlook the Affairs of Men, there must needs be a Future Judgment, some Day of account in vvhich He will render to every Man Rom. ii. 6. according to his Works; and those Vertues shall be rewarded, and those Vices punish'd in some other Life, which we see oftentimes but little regarded in this.

[Page] Do they believe that they are themselves endued with Rational Souls; that they are not meer Machines, a little Mass of Clay, stamp'd with the figure of a Man, but by some purer Principle, raised above the Condition of the other Creatures that are below them? But then let them consider what these Souls are, and whether they may not possibly be of a spiritual substance, capable of Existing by themselves, when the Body falls into the Dust: And if they may, then let them think a little farther, whither they are to go, and what is to be done with them?

In short; Do they believe their own Sense and Experience? Let them then tell us why it is their Consciences so often check them for the Sins they commit, and force them many times to start and tremble at the thoughts of them: And especially then when they are nearest their End, and past all danger of Punishment in this World, unless it be, that their own Hearts then begin to misgive them, and force them at least to fear the Judgment of the Other.

But 2dly; It may be, tho' they are not absolutely certain, that there is no such thing as a Future State, yet neither are they sufficiently satisfied that there is, and this makes them the less sollicitous about it.

[Page] Now if this be the Case, then I must confess that here again there may be some Reason why they should not be so vigorously concern'd for the business of Religion, as those who without all doubt expect a Glorious Reward of their Labours. But yet still, seeing they are not sure, but that there may be another Life after this, and an Eternal State of Happiness or Misery, as we say there is; it must certainly be the wisest way not to be too secure, nor expose themselves to so great a Hazard, as either to come shert of this Rest, if there should be such a thing, or to be lost and damn'd for ever, as they must be, should God chance to call them to an Account for their Sins.

And if such Persons as these, notwithstanding all their Scepticism as to this matter, ought nevertheless to Consider and Fear, and do no more Wickedly; much more, 3dly, Should we who have no doubt at all of this Reward, be very careful not to come short of it, nor suffer any present Interests or Temptations, to deprive us of our Eternal Glory.

It is the Great Disadvantage of the Point before us, that in discoursing of the Happiness or Misery of the Other World, we talk to Men of somewhat at a great distance from them; of [Page] Blessings not to be enjoyed till after they are Dead, and that they Hope shall not be yet a while. Now this makes them for the most part so very Careless in their Provisions for it, and so little apt to be troubled with any fears about it. But yet, since we are sure we must Die, and we cannot tell either How soon, or in What manner we may be cut off, and that should vve chance to be surprized, and taken away out of our present State, before we have made any Due Provision for the future, it will be impossible for us ever to retrieve our Neglect: Certainly all these Considerations ought to engage Us not to let any time pass in securing of so Great a Stake; nor give any Rest to our Souls, whilst we have any just Doubts remaining what shall be our final Portion for ever.

Such Reason therefore have vve all to be very fearful and sollicitous about our future Happiness: And the more to excite us thereunto, let us consider,

IV: That the best way to secure to our selves the Promise of this Rest, is to take Advice of the Text, and live in a continual fear of Coming short of it.

[Page] And that upon these two Accounts: Because (1st) This will be the most likely to engage our own Care: And (2dly) To entitle us to God's Favour.

(1st) This will be the most likely to Engage our own Care.

For Fear where it is not a Slavish Terror arising in the Mind from an Apprehension of Punishment for Sin committed, but a concern for the Discharge of our Duty, lest otherwise we should offend God, and deprive our selves of that Reward he has call'd us to; naturally puts Men upon the strictest Guard over themselves, and Care of their Duty. And therefore Solomon who very well understood the Advantage of it, sets it forth to us as the first step to a Religious Life, Prov. ix. 10. The Fear of the Lord, says he, is the Beginning of Wisdom: As on the other side, David, when he would describe to us a Sinner of whom there was no Hopes, could not find out any better Character for him than this, that He had no fear of God before his Eyes, Psal. xxxvi. 1. And the reason of this is plain; Because where-ever there is such a Fear, it shews the Person who has it, to be endued with a just Sense both of his Duty and of his Danger, [Page] of the Necessity there lies upon him to Live well, and of the great Hazard he shall run if he neglects to do so. Nay it shews yet more, that such an one is not only sensible of all this, but does moreover in the consequence of it resolve to be very careful and diligent in the Offices of Religion; to serve God, and discharge his Duty towards him, that so he may obtain the Reward of it. And where there is such a Disposition as this, it is hardly possible that a Man should fail of accomplishing his Desires.

For if we look more narrowly into this matter, and consider what it is that keeps so many Christians in such a strange Security with Relation to their future State; we shall find it to proceed from one of these two Causes: Either they are not sufficiently sensible of their Obligations to Piety, and of the Necessity there lies upon them to Live Well; Or else they flatter themselves in their own Righteousness, they think they are in a very safe way already, and need not aim at any higher Attainments. But now he who has this Fear continually upon his Mind, will not easily be deluded with either of these: But as he will be truly concern'd for his Salvation, so he will be always afraid that he is not so secure as he ought to be of it. And this will naturally put him upon yet farther Endeavours [Page] to get some New and Greater Victories over himself; to Grow in Grace, and come up nearer to Perfection, that so he may encrease in Hope too, and have still more full and more comfortable Assurances of God's Mercy to Him through Christ Jesus.

(2dly) As such a Fear will be sure to engage our own Care, so will it be the best means to entitle us to God's favour.

For 1st: This will above any thing qualifie us for the Gracious Assistance of his Holy Spirit, to strengthen us in our Endeavours, and to enable us to discharge that Duty which is required of Us. For God resisteth the proud, but giveth Grace to the 1 Pet. v. 5. Humble. To the Humble, that is, to Those who are fearful and jealous of themselves; Conscious of their own Weakness and Infirmity, and supported only with the Hope of God's Grace, to help them in time of need. And therefore St. Paul upon this very Ground exhorts the Philippians to work out Phil. ii. 12. their own Salvation with fear and trembling; because if they did so, then God would not fail to Bless them in it, and to work in them both to —13. Will and to Do of his good pleasure.

2dly: Such a Fear, as it will the best dispose us for the Grace of the Holy Spirit to help us in our Duty, and to fortifie us against those Temptations that may chance to arise to draw [Page] us away from it; so will it the best dispose us for the Pardon of those Sins, which when we have done all that we can, we shall still continue more or less to commit. Because he who thus fears, will either never Willingly fall into any Sins, and then there can be no doubt but that he shall find a very ready Pardon of his Involuntary Offences: Or if he should be at any time so unhappy as to be led away by the Deceitfulness of Sin, yet this Fear will soon awaken him, and bring him both to a true Sense, and a deep Abhorrence of it.

Here therefore, if ever, will be an Object fit for God's Mercy. An Humble, Contrite, Penitent Christian: A Man who in his Heart truly loves God, and above all things both the most desires, and the most endeavours to please Him: And is never so sensibly concern'd, as when he does any thing that he thinks was contrary to his Duty to Him.

And having thus put a Man into a State of Grace, this Fear, 3dly, to complete all, will be the surest means to enable Him to persevere in it unto the End. Whilst keeping him still under the same concern for his Salvation, and in the same Apprehensions of coming short of it; It will by consequence keep him also in the same pious Care to live so that he may not miscarry [Page] at the last, and lose all the Benefit of his former Piety, for want of going on and continuing in it.

And now when so many Considerations engage us to the practice of this Duty; When the Reward proposed to us is so Great, and the Danger of missing it so Fatal, and one of the best ways in the World to secure it to us, is to live always in a warm concern for it, and under a due apprehension of Coming short of it: Methinks I could almost flatter my self that all this shall be sufficient to prevail with you thus to fear, lest any of you should be so unhappy as to fail of it.

Nor let any one think this an improper Exhortation for this place. Fear is, I confess, in General but a Slavish Passion, and such as I can easily believe the Greatest part of this Assembly to be but little acquainted with. But yet there are some things which the Philosophers themselves Aristot. Eth. Nicom. lib. iii. c. 6. could tell us the Bravest Men both might and ought to be afraid of: And sure, if any thing, the Wrath of God, and Eternal Damnation, may well be allow'd to fall under such a Character.

Never was there a Prince endued with a truer personal Courage than King David I need not tell you through how many Dangers he passed, [Page] with how many Difficulties he encountred, and how Great and Intrepid he appeared in all his Tryals. And yet notwithstanding all his Bravery, this Great King thought it no reproach to Him to own such a Fear as this which I am now recommending to you, Psal. cxix. 120. My flesh, says he, O God, trembleth for fear of thee, and I am afraid of thy Judgments.

Where was there ever a Race of Men that despised, I do not say Death, but what is worse than Death, Disgrace, Reproaches, Torments, more than the Primitive Martyrs and Confessors of the Christian Church did? So terrible were their Conflicts, that it almost chills our Blood to read the Accounts of those Cruelties which they with an admirable Patience and Constancy underwent. The Relations of their Sufferings look more like Romance than History: They seem to describe not so much what any Men ever really underwent, as what the Writers of their Lives thought sit to invent, to magnifie their Courage, and Honour their Religion. And yet now these are the Men who in their very Sufferings shew'd what a Fear they had of Offending God, and losing their own Souls. It was their Apprehension of this that inspired them with that Bravery we now so much admire; and made them dare to suffer any Evils in this World, rather than run [Page] the hazard of Perishing for Ever in the Other.

In short, our Religion which exhorts so much to fear in this one Case, yet by this very Fear inspires us with the highest Gallantry and Resolution in all others: Whilst setting before us the Hopes of a Better State, it teaches us not to value any Dangers or Difficulties in This. It shews us how to be Valiant upon a Wise and Rational Foundation: And whosoever follows the Dictates of it, He may indeed be more Temperate in the Use of his Courage, and place it upon better Objects, and reserve it for more worthy and more justifiable Occasions than Men are now a days wont to do; but he need never fear he should ever become the less a Brave Man, for being a fearful and obedient Christian.

I shall conclude all with that Great Precept of Christian Magnanimity, Luke xii. 4. And which as it is a short Summary of all I have now been speaking, so may it, I think, be enough not only to direct, but to try the Courage of the Stoutest among us:

Fear not them that kill the Body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear; Fear him which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into Hell: Yea, I say unto you, Fear Him.

FINIS.

[Page]

§

[Page]

A SERMON Preach'd before the QUEEN AT WHITEHALL: May Xth. M. DC. XC. I.

By WILLIAM WAKE, D. D. Chaplain in Ordinary to Their MAJESTIES, and Preacher to the Honourable Society of GRAYS-INN.

Published by Her Maiesties Special Command.

LONDON, Printed for Richard. Sare, at Grays-Inn-Gate, next Holbourn, 1691.

Information about this book

Title statement

A sermon preach'd before the Queen at White-Hall, May the Xth. M.DC.XC.I by William Wake ...

Wake, William, 1657-1737.

Edition statement

1691

Publication

Publisher

Text Creation Partnership,

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Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) :

Date

2005-10 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1).

ID [DLPS]

A66371

ID [STC]

Wing W268

ID [STC]

ESTC R4902

ID [EEBO-CITATION]

12376605

ID [OCLC]

ocm 12376605

ID [VID]

60635

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(EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A66371)

Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 60635)

Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 903:30)

Source

— A sermon preach'd before the Queen at White-Hall, May the Xth. M.DC.XC.I by William Wake ..., Wake, William, 1657-1737..

Extent

[2], 37 p.

Printed for Richard Sare ...,. London :: 1691.. (Reproduction of original in Huntington Library.)

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