90 THE NINTH SERMON. [2 ThES. II. 11, 12.
are imperfect, yea, polluted; and oiir Lord himself hath told us that 'when ye have done all, say ye, We are unprofitable servants,' Luke xvii. 10. But what Avill not men believe that can believe these things ? There are other absurdities as gross as these, but this sutiiceth for a taste.
[2.] The obstinacy wherewith they cleave to them. Nothing will reclaim them ; not scri[)ture, nor reason, nor evidence of Iruth, but they still cry the opinion of the church, and the faith of their fore- fathers, and will invent any paltry shift and distinction, rather recede from anything than once admit that the church hath erred ; like the obstinate Jews in Christ's time, that denied apparent matter of fact, John viii. 33, ' We were never in bondage to any man,' though they were in Egypt and Babylon, and were now under servitude and the power of the Romans. Though we jirove they have erred, and do err, still the church cannot err ; or rather, like the elder Jews in the prophet Jeremiiih's time, Jer. xliv. 16-19, 'As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken to thee. But we will certainly do whatsoever goeth out of our own mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink- offerings to her, as we have done, we, and our fathers, and our kings, and our princes : for then we had plenty of victuals, and were well, and saw no evil. But since we have left off burning incense to the queen of heaven, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and the famine.' Such sottish obstinacy is there in men that dote upon their own invented superstitious and idolatrous services, custom, antiquity, practice of their ancestors, the authority and usage of their great ones, their rulers, the generality of observance. This is their knot of arguments by which they confirm themselves ; just as the papists i)lead for their sujiei-stitions at this day ; and to make the mess more complete, they add the plenty and prosperity they enjoyed — ■ what a merry world it was before the new gospel came in, when they had nothing but mass and matins ; and all the calamities that have fallen out they impute not to their own sins, but to the gospel. Now, when a people are thus obstinate, and measure religion not by reasons of conscience, but the interests of the belly, it is a sign that they are under the power of delusion, and error hath more efiicacy with such corrupt minds than the truth.
[3.] Tlie causes of it show the efficacy of error. (1.) The sinning of their learned to keep out all instructions, allowing the vulgar only prayers in a strange tongue, and the scriptures in no tongue, and teaching them implicitly to believe as the church believeth. When the Lord permitteth such guides to order the allairs of his church, his great judgment of occecation and obduration is upon them: Jer. v. 31, 'The prophets j)rophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means, and my iie()[»le love to have it so.' (2.) When gain, interest, and ambition move them thereunto ; as those masters in the Acts exclaim against Paul and Silas, when they saw their hope of gain was gone, Acts xvi. 19-21, 'These men do exceedingly trouble the city;' and Demetrius, Acts xix. 2.'), * Ye know by this craft we have our wealth.' Tiiis is a tender point to touch interest, and when once it cometh to this, they will proceed in their folly, and defend one falsehood with another ; for the great idol
2 ThES. II. 11, 12.] THE NINTH SERMON. 01
of the world is gain or love of money : 1 Tim. vi. 10, ' For the love of money is the root of all evil : which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith.' It were a happiness if such kind of arguments did only prevail with us to embrace a religion Hhat might convince others that it was religion itself that we loved ; that our interests did not keep others from their duty, and that we could era- brace a religion for the goodness of it, even to our own loss. (3.) Another cause is pride of themselves, and prejudice to others ; lest they should seem to be in an error and wrong, and to learn of a few novelists — shall they teach them ? No ; rather they will remain ignorant still. Alas ! it is not easy to strike sail, and submit to the teaching of those whom they hate ; therefore men continue those first prejudices they have imbibed, and will rather live and die in their errors than give God glory by a submission to truth, such a proud opinion and conceit have they of their own learning and knowledge. This cause also conduceth to make the resolution more strong — pre- engagement in a contrary way. It is disgraceful to change ; men think it is taken notice of as a great wonder, Acts vi. 7, ' that a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.' But such wonders are not wrought every day ; they of all men are most perti- nacious ; but God can of stones raise up children to Abraham. Now, would to God these causes of error were only found in the antichristian estate. They are everywhere, but these cause strong delusion.