138 SERMONS UPON HEBREWS XI. [SeR. XXXI.
beyond the word, it leads to atheism. Fundamental truths sliould be sure: Deut. xii. 30, 'We should not enquire after their gods.' The Wigelians, who are the same with our familists, expect secidum Spiritus sancti — the age of the Holy Ghost ; for they imagine G-od the Father had his time, that was the law ; God the Sou had his time, that was the gospel ; and the Holy Ghost shall have his time, when there shall be new revelations given to the world, and we shall be wiser than the apostles, and have a clearer light. Some expect a time before the resurrection, when we shall live here in the world without ordinances. Ay ; but ' This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations ; and then shall the end come,' Mat. xxiv. 14 ; ' And I am with you alway, even to the end of the world,' Mat. xxviii. 20. No other revelation is to be expected till the Lord come. These are but vain devices to cheat you of your religion, and to keep the soul from a settlement in the present truth, and that way of religion that God hath appointed and set up, to keep up his respects in the world. Thus you need to be skilled in the subtle enterprises of Satan, that lies in wait to deceive.
Secondly, There are practices, which are most contrary to the essence and glory of God ; as —
1. Hypocrisy, which is an implicit blasphemy: Eev. ii. 9, 'I know the blasphemy of them tliat say they are Jews, and are not ; ' when a man makes it all his business to hold up a fair pretence in the world, and makes a fair sliovv' in the flesh ; but he careth not how he be before God, and cherishes noisome lusts in his heart. Do they walk answer- ably to the belief of a God that have no regard to the eye of God ? No, they disbelieve this truth, and it is hereby weakened more and more in their hearts. Hypocrites are the greatest practical atheists in the world ; they do in eifect say, So we can carry it plausibly and hand- somely before men for worldly ends, we need not stand for the eve of God.
2. Epicurism and carnal living, whereby men contemn God. When men are full, and enjoy a great deal of plenty, they spend all their time in eating, drinking, hunting, hawking, sporting, carding, dicing, and wholly give up themselves to carnal pleasures and vain delights : they do not seek after God : Ps. xiv. 1, ' The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works ; ' and ver. 2, ' The Lord looked down from heaven to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God.' A dissolute luxury rooted by custom will soon deface the impression and memory of a God. Who would sin if they thought there was a God who knew all, and would punish the sinner ? 3 John 11, ' He that doth evil hath not seen God.' When men wallow in all manner of sensual delights and filthiness, this raiseth steams and vapours in the soul. The smoking of fleshly lusts mightily clouds the mind, so that the awe and feelings of conscience are by degrees worn out : Prov. xxx. 9, ' Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say. Who is the Lord ? ' When men live at ease, and have wholly given up themselves to vain pleasures, and are inordinately set upon liberty, they grow impatient of restraint and strong desires, as men in high places are impatient of contradiction ; and because conscience is clamomung, and religion will be interposing and awakening their hearts,
VeK. G.] sermons UPOX HEBREWS XI. 139
therefore they question the truth and being of God, else they cannot keep all quiet in their souls. Men believe what they desire ; none so apt to deny God as those that would be glad if there were no God. When men are willing to sin, and loath to seek quiet in repentance, they seek it in atheism and unbelief — first, they wish there could be no religion : and by little and little they wear out the feelings of it, and silence all the checks they have in their consciences.
3. Scoffers. Scoffing at matters of religion is both an effect and cause of atheism. Apostates are always great scoffers, because they seek to deface and blot out the reverence of those truths and that religion they have forsaken, which otherwise would put them to trouble and horror. Thus Julian the apostate, when he revolted from the christian faith, was a mighty scoffer. Men of a vicious life and frothy wit are of a fit temper for the devil to make atheists of. Every man is under the awe of some religion more or less ; they have too much knowledge to be idolaters, and too little grace to be religious ; therefore they tall a mocking and scoffing at all things that are sacred ; and so they defiice the knowledge of God in their souls : 2 Peter iii. 3, ' There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts.' And Calvin, in his comment, takes notice of such ; that there are ceitain men of Lucian's spirit, nuder colour of declaiming against superstition and the fond couceits of popery ; they abhor all religion, and cry down all that is holy and sacred. The rabbis have a conceit upon those words — Diis non maledices, ' Thou shalt not speak evil of the gods.' Though they are out in the exposition — for it is meant of magistrates — yet they expound it, they should not scoff at the gods of the gentiles, lest, say they, we provoke them to scoff at the true God, and so our reverence and respect to religion be weakened. Many men get a vein at jesting at sermons, and applying scripture to eveiy profane and common matter ; they make it as sauce to their meals, and make the word of God and holy things to lackey to their sports and profane mirth; so that by a custom of scoffing at holy matters, and by venting the superfluities of their frothy wit, they blot out a reverence of God, and exceedingly weaken the awe of religion ; and this conduceth to eclipse the light that is in our minds concerning this supreme truth that there is a God.