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SERM. ment, without living good and virtuous

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Lives.

The Wit of Man has fought out many Inventions to fave the Trouble of being truly religious, and to find a shorter and eafier Way to Heaven than is marked out in the holy Scriptures.

The Church of Rome has invented the Art of transferring Merit, by taking from those who have an Overplus, to give to others who want it, in the Shape of Indulgences, which exhibit in many Cafes a plenary Remiffion of all Sins. The Policy of that Church is very curious upon this gainful Article; for the Body of their Divines do all allow that these indulgencies granted by the Pope out of the common Treafury of Merits, of which he has the Key, cannot discharge Sinners from eternal Punifhment; that would have been too grofs, but the fpecious Words, of plenary Pardon of all Sins, is a Bit that Catches the Ignorant and Unlearned, who would never purchafe thofe Indulgencies at fo dear a rate upon any other Confideration.

And I am forry to obferve, that even among the reformed Churches, certain Doc

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trines have been broached tending greatly SER M. to the Difcouragement of real Virtue. I fhall mention two or three that you may be aware of them. The firft is the afcribing to Faith a greater Efficacy towards Salvation than is warranted by the Word of God. The holy Scriptures do indeed in fome Places afcribe great Powers to Faith, efpecially when they oppofe it to the Works of the ceremonial Law, which was totally abolished by our Saviour's Death. On the other Hand the Gofpel does as frequently and more feverely require good Works, and tells us, that Faith without Works is dead. The Word Faith is allowed to be of moft various and uncertain Signification; but the Senfe of good Works is clear and determined, and cannot cafily be miftaken. For Men therefore to be always exalting Faith, and preffing Chriflians to expect Salvation by relying and refting on Chrift, whilst good Works are lightly paffed cver, is a Practice of dangerous Confequence, as it tends to fuperfede the Trouble of a virtuous and felf-denying Life, and the Practice of Holiness without which no Man fall Jee the Lord.

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SERM.
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Another Doctrine is, that Saints cannot fall from Grace; which is the refult of a fond Perfuafion that God did from all Eternity, out of his fovereign good Pleafure, elect a certain Number of the Children of Adam to everlasting Life exclusively of all others. And because there is an abfolute Neceflity of Holiness, they have contrived that he shall predeftinate them to this likewife. The plain Confequence from which, is that wicked Men are left free to do Evil, while good Men are under an irrefiftible Neceffity of doing Good, which is in Effect to make all true Piety and Virtue impoffible; for wicked Men cannot attain to it, because they are Reprobates, and the Elect cannot have it because it is the Effect of Neceffity, which deftroys the Nature of true Virtue.

Thefe Doctrines which are picked out of certain Scraps of the holy Scriptures, without regard to the Context and Scope of the Argument, and which cannot after the fubtileft Diftinctions be reconciled to the undoubted Senfe of many plain and clear Texts, and to the general Drift and Tenor of the whole, are meer Strains of Enthufiafm, and how piously foever they

may

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may be intended, are only fweet Baits that tend SER M' to enfnare the ignorant and credulous, and to fubftitute fome eafier and more palatable Methods of Salvation in the room of true Virtue. I fhall mention but one more, and that is the natural Impotency of Man to do any thing good and acceptable to God. A Maxim which if taken in that ftrict Senfe in which it has been often affirmed and defended, muft difcourage all Attempts to reform and begin a religious Courfe; for when a Man is once perfuaded of this, he has nothing to do but to fit ftill, and to wait till the Grace of God fhall defcend miraculously upon his Soul like the Fire from Heaven upon Elijah's Altar, and quicken his dead Faculties to Life and Activity.

Men are apt enough of themselves to catch at every Pretence for neglecting the Duties of Religion, and are pleafed above all Things to plead a natural Difability proceeding from God. St. Paul was aware of this, and fearing that the Doctrine of God's Grace might be abufed to Idlenefs, he exhorts the Philippians to work out their own Phil. a.10, Salvation with fear and trembling, from this " very Motive, that it is God which worketh in them both to will, and to do, of his good

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SERM. Pleafure. It is against common Sense to XIV. prefs a Man utterly impotent and dead in his

Limbs with a Palfey, to move and ftir because we are ready to affift him, for what is Help to a dead Man. St. Paul therefore plainly fuppofes that they had fome Power of their own for making Efforts towards their own Salvation, and that upon exerting this, they could not fail of the Concurrence of God's Grace to render it effectual. This is confiftent with Reason, and the Nature of Man, and of moral Virtue; but the Doctrine of utter Impotency is contrary to plain Fact, and most abfurd in itself.

I am afraid that amongst our felves fomething as dangerous is to be found, and that many in their Practice remove Religion off its true Bafis, and reft it more upon a certain Exactnefs in outward Obfervances and Formalities, than in the Purity and Devotionof the Heart, and the unverfal Righteoufnefs of the Life; hoping to compound for Defects in the latter, which is more difficult, by exceeding in the former, which is more easy.

Now thefe, and all other vain Conceits and Imaginations, that divert Men from real and fubftantial Goodnefs, and fubstitute

fome

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