ye seek to kill me, a man which hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God. But their malice did not rest here, they persecuted in like manner his disciples and followers, casting them out of their synagogues, and forbidding them to Speak to the people in the name of Jesus, delivering them up to councils, and condemning them to death. Never did good men shew greater zeal and earnestness for the truth, than these wicked men did against it; so that had our blessed Saviour been the greatest impostor that ever was, and brought the most pernicious doctrine that ever was into the world, they could not have perfecuted him with more rage and fury, and given greater testimony of their enmity against him. I pass to the to Second thing I proposed, namely, To enquire into the causes and reasons of this enmity: Every one that doth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh the light, left his deeds should be discovered. Here is the bottom of mens malice and enmity against the truth, it lays open their evil deeds and designs; men of honest intentions are not afraid of the light, because it can do them no prejudice; it shews what they ought to do, and they have a defire to know it, that they may do it; He that doth the truth, cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest. Light is an advantage to good and virtuous actions, which the more they are seen and understood, the more they are approved and esteemed; but they that do evil, love darkness rather than light, because they are afraid their deeds should be discovered. And there is a twofold discovery of their actions, which bad men are afraid of. They are afraid they should be discovered to themselves, because that creates trouble and uneasiness to them; and they are afraid they should be discovered to others, because that causeth shame. 1. They are afraid the evil of their actions should be discovered to themselves, because that creates guilt and trouble; men do not care to fee their own faults, and to have the vileness of their deeds truly represented to them. And this no doubt was the principal reason which set the Scribes and Pharifees so much against our Saviour and his doctrine, because it discovered their hypocrify to them: and how beautiful foever they appeared without, in their affected piety and formal devotion, yet like painted sepulchres, they were within full of all uncleanness and rottenness. Those real virtues which our Saviour taught, and the practice whereof he made so necessary to the eternal happiness and falvation of men, were a fevere reproof of their lives and actions, and did difcover to them how defective they were in that righteousness, which alone will bring men to the kingdom of God: fo that his doctrine must needs be very troublesome to them, and they did not care to hear it, no more than a bad face loves to look in a true glass; they had flattered themselves before, in a conceit of their own righteousness, but when the light came, it discovered all their spots and deformities, so that they were no longer able to hide them from themselves; and this was a double trouble to them. (1.) It robbed them of that good opinion which they had of themselves before; and it is no small vexation to a man to be put out of conceit with himself. Truth flatters no man, and therefore it is no wonder that so many are offended at it; a good man is fatisfied with himself, and so would bad men fain be too; and therefore truth must needs be very unwelcome to them, because it attempts to deprive them of so great a fatisfaction, and to chase away one of the most pleasant delusions in the world. (2.) The discovery of mens faults fills them with trouble and guilt. Truth carries great evidence along with it; and is very convincing, and where men will not yield to it, and suffer themselves to be convinced by it, it gives them a great deal of disturbance, Gravis mala conscientia lux est, says Seneca; Light ८८ is very troublesome to a bad confcience;" for it shews men their deformities whether they will or no; and when mens vices are discovered to them, they must either refolve to persist in them, or to break them off, and either of these is very grievous. Some ! Some men are so habituated to their vices, and fo strongly addicted to them by their inclination, and attached to them by their interest, that they cannot 1 quit them without offering the greatest violence to themselves; it is like cutting off a right hand, or pulling out a right eye, as our Saviour expresses it. Now to avoid this pain and trouble, most men, though they be convinced of their faults, choose to continue in them; and yet this is full as troublesome as the other, though it is hard to convince men of it. There cannot be a more restless state than that of guilt, the stings and torments whereof are continually increased by mens practising contrary to the convictions of their own minds. Perhaps the trouble of repentance and reformation may be as great at first; but all this pain is in order to a cure, and ends in health and ease: but he who goes on in a bad course, after he is convinced of the evil of it, lays a foundation of perpe tual anguish and torment, which, the longer he con tinues in his vices, will perpetually increase, so that it is no wonder if they that do evil, hate the light, when it is every way so grievous and uneasy to them; 2. Bad men are enemies to the truth, because it discovers the evil of their actions to others, which causeth shame. The doctrine of the gospel lays open the faults of men, and upbraids them with their vices. Precepts of holiness and virtue, are a publick. reproof to the corrupt manners of mankind ind; and men hate publick reproof, because it shames them before others, and exposeth them to cenfure and contempt. This made the Pharisees so offended with Our Saviour's doctrine, because it was so severe ar cenfure of their manners, and abated the reputation of their sanctity and devotion; it discovered them at the bottom to be very bad men; and, how righteous foever they appeared outwardly, to be inwardly full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Now reputation is a tender part, which few men can endure to have touched, though never so justly; and therefore no wonder if bad men be impatient of that truth which lays them open to the world, and do by all means endeavour to fupprefs and conceal it from themselves and others. VOL. X. Thus M Thus I have as briefly as I could, given you an account of the true ground and reason of the enmity of wicked men against the truth, because it discovers their errors and faults, both to themselves and others. I shall now only draw two or three inferences from this discourse, by way of application, and so conclude. I. From hence we may learn the true reason why men are so apt to reject and oppose the principles of religion, both of natural and revealed religion. By the principles of natural religion, I mean those which nature acquaints us with, as the being of God and his providence, the immortality of the foul, and a future state of rewards and punishments after this life: By the principles of revealed religion, those which are revealed in the holy scriptures, especially in the gospel, which is the clearest and most perfect revelation of the divine will, that God ever made to the world. Now the reason why men oppose these principles, and endeavour to throw them off, is because they are loth to be under the restraint of them; they are so many checks and fetters to men of ill designs, and bad lives, and therefore no wonder if they bite at them, and endeavour to break them off: They contradict the lufts of men, and fly in their faces when they do wickedly; they are continually pricks in their eyes, and thorns in their sides, and therefore they would fain be rid of them: and therefore there is a plain reason why these men oppose the truth, and endeavour to baffle it; because it opposeth and affronts them in those wicked practices, in which they are refolved to continue. I do not say that all bad men fly thus high, as to endeavour to extinguish the belief of religion in themselves and others; but there are three forts of men more especially, that think themselves concerned to promote atheism either in themselves or others: 1. Those who are more enormously wicked, are concerned to be atheists themselves, because the principles of religion are so plainly inconsistent with their practice. This is so visible, that they cannot but : i 1 but see it; and therefore they must declare themselves enemies to such principles, as are so notorioufly contrary to the course they live in.. 2. Those who, though their lives are not so notoriously bad, have quicker understandings than the common fort of sinners; because these do sooner difcern the inconfiftency of these principles with their own actions; and being refolved not to reform, partly for the peace of their own minds, and partly to vindicate themselves to others, they declare war against these principles; and if they can overthrow them, they gain a double advantage by it. They think they shall be at more ease in their own minds, if they can but free themselves from the check and controul of these principles; and indeed they would be so, if they could root them out: but nature hath planted them so deep, and riveted them fo fait, that when we have done all we can to extirpate them, they will spring up again. And then they hope al. so by this means to vindicate themselves to others, because they can now no longer be upbraided with the disagreement of their principles with their practice. 3. There are others, who though they be not atheists themselves, yet from the spirit and interest of a worldly church are concerned to promote atheism in others. And this hath been a very common practice of the factors for the church of Rome in this age: when they cannot gain men directly to their religion, they fetch a strange compafs, and try to make them infidels, or scepticks, as to all religion; and then they doubt not to bring them about at last to the outward profeffion of their religion, which will serve their turn well enough: for when men are once unhinged from the principles of all religion, it is no hard matter, for their own ease and interest, to perfuade them to an outward compliance with that religion which is coming in fashion, and will bring them some advantage. And this is not an uncharitable fufpicion, but certain in fact and experience; that this impious method of several of the Priests of the church of Rome, hath been one of the principal sources of the infidelity and scepticifm of this age. M 2 II. This |