2 3 8 Honefiy the bell Prefervitive Vol. I. that he [peaks of himfelf; but he who by his Life, and the courfe of his Aftj- tms demonftrates that he feeks theHonour of God, and not any intereft and advau. tage of his own, thefame is true, and there is no unrighteoufnefs in him ; that is no falfhood or defiign to deceive (for fo the Word dbact, does fometimes fignifie you may conclude fuch an one to be no Deceiver, or Impoftor. And if any Man fincerely delres and endeavours to do the Will of God, he may by fuch Marks and Chara&ers as thefe, judge of any Doirine that pretends to be from God, whether it be fo or not. This is the firfl Reafon ; becaufe he that fincerely delires and endeavours to do the will of God, hath the trueft Notion of God, and of Divine Things. 2. Such a Perfon is more impartial in his fearch and enquiry after Truth, and therefore more likely to find it, and to difcern it from Error. He that hath an ho- neft Mind, and fincerely endeavours to do the will of God, is not apt to be fwayed and biaffed by any Intereft or Luft : For his great Intereft is to pleafe God, and he makes all his other Interefts and Concernments to ftoop and yield to that. But if a Man be governedby any earthly Intereft or Defign, he will meafure all things by that, and is not at liberty to entertain any thing that croffes it, and to judge equal- ly of any Do&rine that is oppofite to his Intereft. This our Saviour gives for a Reafon, why the great Rabbies and Teachers among the Jews did not believe and embrace his Doctrine, john 5. 44. How canye believe, which receive honour one of another ? If Men have any other Defign in Religion than to pleafe God, and to advance his Honour and Glory in the World, no wonder if they be apt to rejet the moft Divine Truths ; becaufe thefe are calculated, not to approve us to Men, but to God. And as Vain-glory, and defire of the Applaufe of Men ; fo likewife doth every other Luft make a Man partial in his Judgment of Things, and clap a falfe Biafs upon his Underftanding, which carries it off from Truth, and makes it to lean to- wards that fide of the Queftion which is moft favourable to the Intereft of his Lufts. A vicious Man is not willing to entertain thofe Truths which would crois and check him in his courfe : He bath made the Truth his Enemy, and therefore he thinks himfelf concerned to oppofe it, and rife up again11 it : The light of it offends him, and therefore he íhuts his Eyes that he may not fee it. Thofe holy and pure Do&rines, which are from God, reprove the Lulls of Men, and difco- ver the Deformity of them ; and therefore no wonder if bad Men be fo hard to be reconciled to them. This account our Saviour likewife gives of the fierce En- mity of the Jews to him, and his Do&rine, John 3. 59, 20. Light is come into the World, and 1'[en loved darknefs rather than light, becaufe their deeds were e- vil ; for every one that doth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, left his deeds fhould be reproved. The vicious Inclinations of Men are a dead weight upon their Underftandings, and able to draw down the Scales againft thecleareft Truths: Fortho' it be ab- folutely in no Man's Power to believe, or to dif-believe what he will ; yet Men's Lives have many times a great influence upon their Underftandings, to make Af- fent eafie, or difficult ; and as we are forward to believe what we have a mind to, fo are we very backward and flow in yielding our Affent to any thing that croffeth our Inclinations. Men that allow themfelves in ungodlinefsandworldly lulls, will not eafily believe thofe Do&rines which charge Men fo ftri&ly with all manner ofHo- linefs, and Purity. This is the way which the Devil bath always ufed to blind the Eyes of Men, that the light of the glorious Gofpel of Clorifi might not Thine into them. And certainly the moft effe&ual way to keep Men in Infidelity, is to debauch them in their Lives ; therefore the Apoftle gives this as the Reafon of the Infidelity of Men in the Taft Times, 2 Thef. 2. I 2. They believed not the Truth, but had pleafure in unrighteoufnefs. When Men once abandon themfelves to lewd and vicious Pra&ices, Infidelitybecomes their Intereft, becaufe they havenoother way to defend and excufe a wicked Life, but by denying theTruth which oppofeth ir, and finds fault with it, That
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=