SER M. rule for life; a light and direction for our XXIX. paths, and powerful motive to folid virtue and

holiness, it thus becomes the entertainment of men's fancies, and too often works no effects beyond those powerful impreffions it leaves on the imaginations of men.

This was the first policy of the devil against Christianity, and the greatest ftatagem that ever he put in practice to defeat its ends, and make it as ufelefs as he could to the great purpofe for which it was defigned, the fubverfion of vice and wickedness, and reformation of the world. For no fooner had the Gospel been preached, and the number of converts were multiplied, and that people were taken with its fimplicity and agreeableness to the natural fense of their minds, but there arose a fort of people, who turned all its doctrines into mystery, to avoid the practice of its precepts. The Gospel was too low and mean for them, and but a beggarly element; and therefore they would outdo the Apostles themselves, and go beyond all mankind in divine knowledge, and myfteries, and revelations, infomuch that they were called Gnofticks, from that profoundnefs of knowledge which they arrogated to themselves.

Thus they wrapt up all the clear light of the Gospel in clouds and obfcurity, that they might work the works of darknefs; and this they called wifdom, and knowledge, and a degree of revelation out of the reach of any but those of their own way. And therefore they pitied and despised all those who could

find no way to dispense with their duty; and SE R M. wrought out their falvation by a folid intire XXX. virtue, and a pure and undiffembled holiness.

It is to thefe exalted knowing men in fpiritual matters, that St. James here in my text opposes the wisdom from above. Under pretence of knowledge and mystery, they had found out a way to evade the difcharging all neceffary practical duties, and had incorporated all vitious lafcivious practices into the very body of their religion. And therefore at the 15th verse of this chapter he tells them, this wisdom defcendeth not from above, but is earthly, fenfual, and devilish. Those elevations of mind, and pretences to fomething very great and extraordinary in religion, were not from God, but from the Devil. Whatever gave any encouragement to vice and wickednefs, and all arts of reconciling fin with the Chriftian religion, could not be from any infufion of the Spirit of God, but the delufions of their fancies, and came from Hell. Who, fays he, is the wife man, and endued with knowledge among you? let him fhew out of a good converfation his works with meekness of wif dom; i. e. if any man will approve himself to be truly wife, let him fhew his wisdom, not in nice and intricate opinions, in pretences to revelations and myfteries, and unaccountable elevations of mind, cut of the way of other people; but in the prudent conduct and management of his whole life, and a conftant univerfal discharge of thofe virtues and graces, VOL. II. which

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XXX.

SER M. which are plain and obvious to every body. And here in the words of my text he proW ceeds to give a character of the true wisdom from above, or that which proceeds from the holy Spirit of God, as it is distinguished from all false pretences whatsoever. The wisdom that is from above, is first pure, &c. So that here are fix marks of that truly divine wisdom, and the firft of thefe fhall be the fubject of my prefent discourse.

I. And first, the wisdom from above is faid to be pure, dyn; i. e. chafte; or, as another Apostle expreffeth it, by the cleanfing ourselves from filthinefs both of flesh and fpirit, from all unchafte inclinations of the body, and impure defires of the mind; from all immodefty in outward deportment, and from all the defilements of the fancy or imagination. This is the first property of that truly divine and heavenly wisdom, which St. James here places in direct oppofition to that fpecious pretence of elevated fanctity and holiness in those first hereticks, who under colour of a more refined and fpiritual religion, and of more extraordi-, nary degrees of knowledge, defpifed the practice of plain folid virtues; fuch as justice, and temperance, and particularly chastity; infomuch that their confciences were eafy, and they frequently entertained themselves with religious tranfports, in the midst of all manner of lafcivious practices.

Now though nothing in nature can be more abfurd, and contrary not only to Christianity,

but

but to that common fenfe of good and bad, of SE RM. vice and wickedness, which is in every one: XXX. Yet there are not wanting, even at this day, many who lye under this fatal delufion; and think that their devotion and outward piety, their spiritual vouchfafements, their confident perfuafion of their election, their frequent religious heats, and the zeal and warmth of their imaginations, shall out-power the guilt of all their unchastity and lafcivioufnefs, and fanctify thefe worst of vices. It is this which supports the esteem of these things in the hearts of many, and which puts them upon making it the main business of religion to labour after these things inceffantly, even to the utter neglect of a thorough reformation of all vice, and the practice of folid virtue.

I am perfuaded I speak to their consciences, and reach the very bottom and first spring of all thofe fpiritual delufions, when I fay, that which makes them fo intent and eager after things of that nature, is a fecret opinion they have, that they will in a great degree compenfate the want of a strict discharge of these moral practical precepts of Chriftianity. Thus they turn the grace of God into lafciviousness, going on in habitual lewd and vitious practices, together with a conftant discharge of all things which carry the appearance of holiness: Their pangs of confcience, and elevations of mind, have their due returns, and fucceed each other. So that the zeal of those people is a frange kind of monftrous compofition,

SER M. made up of the heats of luft, and the warmths XXX. of a religious frenzy: The faint and devil is

united in one perfon, they are now dejected, and again very full of confidence and affurance, both in very great extremes; but their imagination commonly gets the better of their judgments, quiets their confciences, and leaves them eafy at the last. There is a lively defcription of this fort of people in the Proverbs, There is a generation who are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness: And the Apostle's defcription of them is, that they hold the mystery of faith, but not in a pure confcience. They believe all the articles of faith, and are very much affected on all occafions with the confideration and mention of them; but are manifeftly defective in that intire reformation of life which the Gospel requires.

The chief caufes and ground of this delufion feem to be one or both of these things, either,

1. That opinion fo many have taken up of their abfolute election: a doctrine fo directly deftructive of virtue and goodness, that it hath fent many a foul to hell, with a full perfuafion of their being faved; because they did not well confider, that the Gofpel will never fave any but those that it reforms. So that though people were endued with the gift of prophecy, and understood all myfteries and all knowledge; though they had all faith, fo that they could remove mountains; yet, without a strict obfervance of the precepts of the Gospel, and of thofe