CHAPTER II.

_How far |Christian Prudence| is concerned in the manner of keeping |God|’s commandments_.

1. AS to the manner of keeping God’s commandments, the main difficulty is in the _doing_, and not in determining what in prudence ought to be done. Prudence doubtless (as well as duty) requires, that we should keep them in as good a manner as we can. For since the commandments of God are evidently the means that qualify us for happiness, it follows, that the better they are kept by _us_, the more we shall be qualified by _them_. Now ’tis unquestionably the part of every prudent man, to obtain as much happiness as he can: and consequently to do his best to serve God, and keep his commandments, in the most perfect manner he is able; because the better he keeps them, the happier he will be; and no wise man would be less happy when he may be more so.

2. Setting aside therefore all inducements of either love or fear, all arguments of gratitude or generosity, all the reasonableness and justice of serving God, and living in obedience to his laws, all the pleasures of religion, and the present advantage of it both to our souls and bodies I say, tho’ we should set aside all these considerations, yet there is a prudential consideration, sufficient to engage every wise Christian to do his best, and to be as holy as he can, _viz._ That the better he is, the happier he will be; every addition to virtue being so much stock laid in for his future happiness. The question concerning _degrees of glory_, seems to have been put merely for argument sake, for it cannot be put seriously, but by one that is as ignorant of the nature of things, as of divine revelation: were the scripture silent, yet the very nature of the thing infers it; for since holiness is a natural qualification for happiness, it necessarily follows, that the more holiness the more happiness; and consequently, that the best must be the happiest man; and therefore ’tis great prudence for every Christian, to labour to be excellently good, as good as he can be, according to the measure of grace imparted to him. To reduce this to an instance; our Saviour has annexed to purity of heart a particular blessedness, even that of seeing God: whence we may gather, that this is a particular qualification for the beatific vision, and accordingly, that those who have most of this purity, will be most happy, as either seeing more of God, or as being more delighted with what they see of him; and therefore every prudent Christian _that hath this hope_, will study to _purify himself_ as much as he can, that so he may be a more meet partaker of that happiness, which is promised to the pure in heart.

*3. Let not therefore any Christian content himself with his present state, or his past attainments in goodness; much less let him designedly aim at a slender degree, such as he thinks may just carry him to heaven. He may be mistaken in his measure, and when laid in the balance be found wanting: but suppose he be not, yet he stands in his own light, and is frugal to his own great loss: for, ’tis but an ill thrift to deal hardly for heaven, and to think to go thither the cheapest way; since beside the danger of miscarrying, so much as he abates of his holiness, so much he abates of his own perfection, and cuts short his own happiness: and where is the gain or the wisdom of such a thrift? ’Tis folly and loss all over. Let us not therefore rest satisfied with narrow and scanty measures, much less expresly design them: for besides, that ’tis not easy to _persevere_ in such a weak and languishing state of piety (every little blast of temptation being ready to blow out a lamp that is fed with so little oil:) suppose we should persevere in it, yet there is no getting over this consideration, that the more we come short in goodness, the more we shall fall short in happiness; that every abatement in the former is so much deducted from the latter, a jewel taken out of their crown. Therefore let no one who pretends to Christian prudence, sit down with a low infant-state of goodness, but let him endeavour to grow in grace, and always to abound in the work of the Lord: not contenting himself with his present state, but always studying to excel himself, to grow better and better, and to make a constant progress in religion, correcting what is amiss, and supplying what is wanting, and aspiring after the largest measures and fullest degrees of holiness, always remembring, that all the while he is thus serving God, he is consulting his own interest, and that the more goodness he brings with him to heaven, the more happiness he will find there.

4. In consequence of this, a prudent Christian will begin betimes, and set out early in the ways of piety; not only that he may have the advantage of the morning, the proper time for travelling, and the satisfaction of serving God in the prime of his age, and the vigour of his strength: but also that he may lengthen his day, and have the more time to serve God in, and to prepare himself for the fruition of him in glory; that he may have the more time before him, to correct his disorders, to fill up his deficiencies, to regulate his passions, to purify his heart, to perfect his habits, to adorn his soul with all Christian virtues; in a word, to compose the state and frame of his mind for happiness, and to put himself in a due order for heaven. For these reasons ’tis Christian prudence to begin betimes, to run the way of God’s commandments, and not to defer that work to the declining part of life, which is the one business of the whole.

5. But if it be prudence, as to keep the commandments of God, so to keep them in the very best manner we can, what shall we think of those who serve God by halves, who halt between two masters, the almost Christians? Because this is so common a case, it may be proper to bestow some reflections upon it. I shall therefore consider more at large,

First, what it is that hinders their rising any higher than to be almost Christians. And

Secondly, The imprudence of this lame way of serving God, of being Christians by halves.

*6. First, The general hindrance to our being more than almost Christians, is the corrupt perverseness of human nature: this it was that made the fair inclinations of King _Agrippa_ proceed no farther than they did: than to extort from him that ingenuous confession, _Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian_. Then, it seems, he was not absolutely persuaded, tho’ he was inclining toward it. Poor _Agrippa_! He had heard St. _Paul_ giving an account of his manner of life from his youth, and of his miraculous conversion to Christianity, with great plainness, modesty and simplicity, and was not a little affected with the discourse; especially with the conclusion, _King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest._ This nearly touched him, and left a very sensible impression upon his heart.

And yet there was something more prevalent within him, that would not suffer him quite to yield. He had a good mind to be a Christian, but fear, interest and prejudice outweighed that inclination, and after some uncertain suspenses, the scale turned on the other side. And this is the case of too many: they have several good thoughts and purposes: but their thoughts and purposes are too much like the endeavours of those that are trying to wake out of a deep sleep, into which they sink back again, overcome by the dead weight that hangs upon them. There is a weight, an impediment in their will, that stops the wheels of virtuous action, so that there can be no motion, tho’ the springs of religion bear ever so hard upon them. Sometimes indeed conscience works so strongly, that she wants but little of gaining her point. But even that little, it seems, is too much; she is like a bowl thrown up against a steep bank, which it nimbly climbs, till it is just about to lodge and settle at the top: but wanting some degrees of force to overcome the resistance, it cannot reach it, and rolls back again.

7. _Thou art not far from the kingdom of_ God, was just such a cast as this: and _yet lackest thou one thing_, was such another. These men’s religion had carried them a good way, and they were well onward in their journey to heaven; but it tired, and grew faint in the latter stages of the road, which was found either too narrow or too long, and so they stopped short, and made an eternal halt, when a little more resolution would have carried them through. The same thing we now see every day; there are many who have a liking to religion, who have had a good natural disposition, assisted by a religious education. Nor are they only inclined to religion, but partly practise it; they do many things, and forbear others. All goes on hopefully toward a thorough conversion; they are already past the most painful part of it, and are now upon the critical point; so that a grain or two more would turn the scale; insomuch, that there begins to be joy in heaven, and the angels are tuning their harps: yet there wants a little more weight on the side of religion, for want of which the counter-weight prevails against it; against reason, religion and divine grace together. They have indeed the workings of religion upon them; they feel several pangs of the new-birth; but after all, they want strength to bring forth.

8. The imprudence of this lame way of serving God (which I was to shew in the second place) appears first from this, that it is insufficient. Such a half religion can never hold weight in the balance of the sanctuary. Such men, ’tis true, are almost good; but almost to hit the mark is really to miss it. For religion consists in an entire love of God, and an effectual resolution to obey him. Even a bad man may love what is good in some degree, but not with an effectual, prevailing love. This therefore is what denominates a man good, when religion is the commanding ♦bias of his soul. And none but those who are thus thoroughly good, are so good as to be fit for happiness. To make us capable of that, there must be a peculiar frame of mind, to affect which in us is the one business of religion. And if it does this only almost, and by halves, as it can never bring us to heaven, so neither if it could, would it be able to make us happy there.

♦ “biass” replaced with “bias”

*9. This imperfect piety is farther condemned by Christian prudence as very absurd. If we did not intend to go through, why did we set out? If we did, why do we stop? If we think there is no reason in religion, why do we any thing? But if we think there is, why don’t we do enough? For the same reason that we do so much, why don’t we do more? For either religion has truth on its side, or not. If not, why do we take so much labour _needlesly_? But if it has, why do we take so much labour _in vain_? ’Tis, I own, a strange piece of even brutal indifference, to do nothing in order to our eternal happiness: and, yet, methinks, to do a part only, has something in it more extravagant than the other. He that does nothing, whatever he loses besides, has yet no labour to lose. But to labour by halves, is to lose the same good, and all that we do in order to it. The atheist and libertine have something to pretend; but the half-religious has no excuse; since that very religion he has will condemn him, as an inconsistent, unprincipled fool.

10. The last censure of Christian prudence upon the half-way state of piety, is, that it is very unhappy, I mean even in this world. The almost Christian is the _double-minded man_ St. _James_ speaks of, who has two wills, one for God and another for the world, between which he variously fluctuates. Such an one is _unstable in all his ways_: he is a mixed, doubtful, unsettled, wavering creature, never out of perplexities and intanglements, always disconformable to himself, doing what he would not, and not doing what he would and should, never long satisfied with himself. He has indeed a kindness for religion, but he has a greater kindness for something else; so that his religion just serves to disturb the enjoyment of his lusts, as his lusts to deprive him of the comfort of his religion. Nor can he be perfectly at peace with himself, but by being thoroughly wicked or thoroughly good. So wicked as to _have his conscience sear’d with a hot iron_, or so good as to act up to his principles. He must be of a single mind, one way or the other, before he can be at rest. And yet this double-mindedness is the state in which most men chuse to live and die, having religion enough to disturb them in their sins, but not enough to engage them to part with them.

*11. And now methinks, I hear one saying within himself, _Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian_. Alas! why not _quite_? Is it that we want the art of address, that we do not touch the right spring of your soul? But sure our cause has weight enough to bear itself out, and to supply any defect in the management of it. For is there not truth and reason enough in religion, to gain a reasonable creature? Or can any motive have a greater force or persuasion, than the joys of heaven and the pains of hell? Or do you question whether God be able to reward your entire love and compleat obedience? If you indeed _believe that_ God _is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him_, as even your indifferent way of serving him seems to suppose, then you must needs think it wisdom, to lift up the hands that hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees; to be heartily and thoroughly religious, and not to be guilty of so inconsistent a folly as to take _some_ pains all your life for heaven, and yet go at last to hell.

12. Considering then the insufficiency, the absurdity, and the unhappiness of a half religion, let us instantly labour _to fill up the things that are behind_, that are wanting to the measure of our righteousness. Let us earnestly endeavour to bring ourselves under the full power and influence of religion, that it may have its due work upon our hearts and lives, that we may _be perfect, entire, and wanting nothing_: always imploring the Holy Spirit of God, by the victorious sweetness of his divine grace, to give the last finishing to that holy birth, he is forming in us, that it may _come to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fulness of_ Christ: that so, according to the apostle’s wish, we may be both almost, and altogether Christians!