Sérni.L.XXIV. Ricb Man and Lazarus. account our Blefïed Saviour gives of the Enmity of the Sews againft him arid his Doctrine, john 3. 19. Light is come into the World, and Men love darkness ra- ther than light, becauft' their deeds are evil : for every one that (teeth evil, hateth the light, neither cometh he to the light, left his deeds should be reproved. Upon the fame account it is, that Men refift the Do&rine of the Holy Scriptures ; not be- caufe they have fuficient Reafon to doubt of their Divine Authority ; but becaúfe they are unwilling to be govern'd by them, and to conform their Lives to the Laws and Precepts of that Holy Book : For the Wills of Men have a great In- fluence upon their Understandings, to make afrent eafy or difficult ; and as many -are apt to offent to what they have a mind to, fo they are flow to believe any thing which crol%th their Humours and Inclinations ; fo that the' greater Evi- dence were oTFer'ci, it is likely it would not prevail with them, because the mat- ter does not flick there. ` ,Their Wills are diflemper'd, Men hate to be reform'd,and this makes them cafi the Laws of God behind their Backs ; and if God himfelf fhould fpeak to them from Heaven, as he did, to the People of Ifrael ; yet for all that, they might continue a Riffnecked andrebellious People. Tho' the Evidence were fuch as their Underflandings could not refill ; yet their Wills might frill hold out, and the prefent condition of their Minds might have no Tatting influ- ence upon their Hearts and Lives ; fuch a violent Conviction might of ed them for the prefent, but the Senfe of it might perhaps wear off by degrees, and then they would return to their formerbardnefs. Men, by a long and obstinate con- tinuance in fin, may bring themfelves to the Temper and,Difpofition of Devils ; who though they believe and tremble at the thoughts of God and his Threatnings, yet they are wicked flit! ; for fo long as Men retain a firong affection for their Lulls, they will break through all Conviction, and what Evidente foever be offer'd to them, they will find fome way or other to avoid it, and to delude themfelves. The plain truth of the cafe is this, (if Men will honeftly fpeak their Confciences, they cannot deny it) they do not call for more Evidence, either becaufe they want it, or are willing to be convinced by it ; but that they may-Seem to have forne excufe for themfelves, for not being convinced by that Evidence which is afforded to them. 4thly, Experience does abundantly teflify, how ineffe ual extraordinary ways are to convince and reclaim men of depraved Minds, and fuch asare obftinately addicted to their Lufts. 'We find many remarkable Experiments of this in the Hi$ory of the Bible. What Wonders were wrought in the fight of Pharaoh and the Egyptians! yet they were harden'd under all thefe Plagues. Balaam who greedily followed the wages of unrighteoufnefs, was not to be.ftoptby the ad,moni - tion of an Angel. The yews, after fomany Miracles which their Eyes had feed, continued to be afiiffneck'd and gainsaying People ; fo that it is hard to fày which was more prodigious, the Wonders which God wrought for them, or their Re- bellions againft him ; and when in the fulnefs of time, the Son of God came and did among them the Works which never Man did, fuch, as one would have thought might have brought the worft People in the World to Repentance, thofe of tyre and Sydon, of. Sodom and Gomorrah, yet they repented not. Yea the. very things, which the Rich. Man here in myText, requefted of Abraham for his Brethren, was done among them ; Lazarus did rife from thedead, and tefiiftedunto them, arid 555 they were not perfuaded And which is yet more, our. Saviour himfelf according to his own Predidtion while he Was alive, rofe again from the dead the thirdday, and was vifibly taken up into Heaven ; and yet how few among them did believe, and giveglory to God! So that we fee the very thing here fpoken ofin the Text, made good in a famous Inftance ; they who believednot Mofes and the Prophets, which teftified of the Megas, were not perfuaded when he role from the dead. And does not our own Experience tell us, how little eff'ec`t the extraordinary Providences of God have had upon thofe who were not reclaimed by his Word. It is not long since God (hewed himfelf among us, by terrible things in Righter oufnefs, and viuted us with three of his foreft Judgments, War, and Peftilence, and Fire ; and yet how does all manner of Wickednefs and Impiety frill reign Bbbba - and
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=