20.

SERM. mock at all Religion. By this Deed, faid XVIII. the Prophet Nathan to David, reproving him for his Adultery and Murder; by This Deed thou hast given great occafion to the Enemies of the Lord to blafpheme; 2 Sam. xii. 14. And by reafon of the Wickedness of Eli's Sons, 'tis recorded that men abhorred the Offering of the Lord, I Sam. ii. 17. And, fpeaking of the Corruption of the Jewish Nation; The Heathen, says ch. xxxvi. God by Ezekiel, profaned my holy Name, when they faid to them, Thefe are the people of the Lord. Which Paffage of the Prophet, St Paul cites and applies to wicked Chriftians, Rom. ii. 23; Through breaking the Law, dishonoureft thou God? For the Name of God is blafphemed among the Gentiles, through You, as it is written. And the fame Arguments he urges likewife in other of his Epiftles; Exhorting men to the practice of Righteousness and Holiness, that They of the contrary part may be afhamed, and that the word of God be not blafphemed, Tit. ii. 5, 8. and 1 Tim. vi. 1; that the Name of God, and bis Doctrine, be not blafphemed.

To

To conclude this Head; our Saviour SER M. in his Parable, where he compares the XVIII.

End of the World to the Time of Harveft, defcribes Iniquity under the character of an Offence or Scandal, in the fenfe I am now fpeaking of; The Son of man, faith he, skall fend forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, (in the original it is, all Scandals,) and them which do Iniquity, Matt. xiii. 41.

II. HAVING thus at large explained what is meant in the Text by the word, Offences; I proceed in the Second place to confider in what Senfe our Saviour muft be understood to affirm, that 'tis impofble but fuch Offences will come; or, as 'tis expreffed in St Matthew, that it must needs be that Offences come. And here there have been fome fo abfurdly unreafonable, as to understand this of a proper and natural Neceffity; as if God had ordained that Offences fhould come, and had accordingly predeftinated particular men to commit them. But This, is directly charging God with the Sins of Men; and making Him, not themselves, the AuFf2

thor

SER M.thor of Evil. The plain meaning of ourXVIII. Saviour, when he affirms it to be impoffible but that Offences will come, is This only; that, confidering the State of the World, the Number of Temptations, the Freedom of mens Will, the Frailty of their Nature, the Perversenefs and Obftinacy of their Affections; it cannot be expected, it cannot be fuppofed, it cannot be hoped, but that Offences will come; though. it be very unreasonable they should come. Mén need not, men cught not to corrupt the doctrine of Chrift; they need not difbonour their Religion, by unchriftian Heats, Contentions, and Animofities among themfelves; much lefs is there any Neceffity that they should live contrary to it, by vicious and debauched Practices: And yet, morally fpeaking, it cannot be but that all these things will happen. The manner of ufing the like Expreffions in other places of Scripture, does evidently and beyond contradiction fhow This to be the true Sense of the words. Thus our Saviour, St Mar. xiii. 7. fpeaking of Wars and Tumults, When ye shall hear, fays he, of Wars and Rumours of Wars, be ye not troubled

14.

23.

troubled; For fuch things must needs be: SER M. They must needs be; that is, not that XVIII. God has laid upon men any neceffity of quarrelling; but that, from the Wickednefs of the World, nothing better can be expected. St John, by a like manner of Joh.iii.6. fpeaking, tells us of fome perfons fo far improved in Virtue, that they cannot fin; and St Peter, of Others fo extremely cor- 2 Pet. ii. rupted, that they cannot cease from Sin: and our Saviour himself, of Rich persons, for whom, with men, that is, humanely Speaking, it is impoffible to enter into the Mat. xix. Kingdom of Heaven. All which expref-2 fions most evidently fignify, not natural Impoffibilities, but moral Improbabilities only. To mention but one place more; It oannot be, fays our Lord, St Luk. xiii. 33; it cannot be, that a prophet perish out of Ferufalem: His meaning is This only; that Jerufalem was then fo very wicked and corrupt a place, that it would be a very ftrange thing, a thing hardly to be imagined, that a Prophet fhould be flain in any other City. And thus therefore likewise in the words of the Text, It is impoffible but that Offences will come: Ff3

That

SER.M. That is to fay; In the courfe of a World, XVIII. wherein (according to the nature of a Probation-ftate) all men are free, and among Them Some are weak, and many will be wicked; it cannot be expected but that Offences must come. And 'tis very rea fonable for the Providence of God to permit it fo to be, for the Trial and Improvement of the Sincere: 1 Cor. xi. 19, There must be alfo Herefies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifeft: The meaning is; There will be Factions, Parties, and Animofities, arifing among worldly and contentious men from the Love of Power and Dominion: And by Thefe, (by fuffering These fometimes to prevail almoft univerfally, and to exalt themselves with great Power and Authority in the World,) the Providence of God tries and diftinguishes, who are Lovers of the Truth, and Goodness, and Meekness of the Gofpel, and who on the contrary are of worldly, factious, and ambitious Tempers.

III. I PROPOSED to confider in the Third place, why a particular Wo is, by way of Emphasis and Diftinction, de

nounced