SERMON XXV.

Sincerity ineffectual without a good

That

Life.

[From CLAGET T's Third Volume.]

PHIL. I. IO.

ye may approve things that are excellent, ye may be SINCERE, and without

that ye may

offence till the day of Chrift.

N

O man that confiders what he says, pretends to the comforts of religion, but upon the fuppofition of his own fincerity. We are afhamed, upon other terms, to expect the pardon of our fins, the favour of God, and everlasting life. And indeed, one main and neceffary ground of every good man's confidence towards God, is the confcience of his fincerity. So that a great ftrefs is laid upon this attainment, and in truth not without reafon. But therefore it muft needs be of dangerous confequence, to

be

be mistaken in the judgment we make of our felves, in reference to this quality; and it is therefore equally dangerous, to be miftaken in the judgment we make concerning the thing it felf.

Every body knows wherein fincerity towards one another confifteth, that is, in performing promises, in dealing ingenuously, and in intending and doing that kindness to our neighbour, which we have made him to expect from us. We understand these parts of fincerity, because we expect them from others. Our intereft, in this cafe, happens to fecure us from miftake.-But that fincerity is of a much larger extent, upon which a good man builds his hope in God, and his comfort at the hour of death. It is what comprehends all other duty to God, and man, and our felves. It is that whereby his whole converfation is governed. It is what our Saviour, in the parable of the fower, calls the boneft and good heart. It is purity of intention, love of the truth, and impartiality in obedience. It is a far more excellent quality, than they reprefent it, who fupport their confidence of their own good state, by a perfuafion, that God

will accept of their fincerity, while the ways in which they are engaged, would give them little caufe of comfort, if they were thoroughly examined and understood,

To avoid fuch dangerous miftakes, we must in the first place beware of trusting to imperfect accounts of fincerity; for instance, such as this, that a man be the fame

in reality, that he

is in appearance. For tho' this is neceffary to the character of a fincere man, yet it is by no means fufficient. If this were enough, then every shameless libertine, every bold malefactor, in not diffembling his vices to the world, were equally honeft with profeffors of the truth, and fufferers for righteousness fake. Something else must be added to this rule, to make it a teft of an honeft man, that is, he muft pretend to piety and virtue; and if he anfwers that pretence, by inward temper of mind, and practice in life, then he hath true fincerity.

Neither is it fufficient for this purpose, to be true to the perfuafion we are of, not omitting what in duty we believe our selves bound to do, nor doing what we believe our felves bound to forbear. Now this is alfa

judged

judged abfolutely neceffary to the nature of fincerity, that tho' the perfuafion be erroneous, a man is bound to follow it. And it is a vain thing to go about to prove, that a man ought not to follow the dictates of his confcience, that he may without fin act contrary to his own judgment of what he ought to do or avoid. And the reason is plain; because no body can do this, but he is presently conscious to himself of evil doing: And I think he has a very hard task, who undertakes to fhew, that a man may be honeft in that very thing, wherein he knows himself to be a knave.

So that this is unavoidably neceffary to fincerity, namely, to govern the practice by confcience, or by perfuafion, concerning good and evil. But then this is not enough. For if it were, he that fhould act the greatest villanies, under a perfuafion that they were deeds worthy of praise, would be as honeft a man, as if his confcience had led him to no actions, but what were truly virtuous and good.-But this is a conclufion that is not to be endured. It is easy to difcern, how pernicious and infufferable the confequences of it would be; and it will

not be hard to fhew, that it is in it felf false; and therefore, that to this character of a fincere man, that he follows his confcience or judgment in his practice, we must add fomething else to make it compleat, and that is, that his judgment be rightly informed what he is to do and what he is to avoid in obedience to God's will, and that he believes all that truth which is necessary to fuch obedience.

And this is that which I fhall endeavour to make out, that fincerity doth not only exclude grofs hypocrify, and that dishonesty of which a man cannot but be confcious to himself; but that it implies moreover, the doing of that which God requires in all our ways, and by confequence the knowledge of that duty which God hath fhewn to us, and the belief of that truth which he hath made known, to bring us to repentance, and thereby to falvation.

These are points neceffary to be cleared; because most men do not defire they should prove true. We would be so easy, when we think of God and another world, that we love not to take pains enough to be safe. But he only that is upon fafe grounds, has reafon