Twenty sermons preached at Oxford before His Majesty, and elsewhere

Thou mayst see sin to be sin by natural reason, but to see it exceeding sinful, this morality comes short of, thou must have this from the Law of God.

¹5. There is another false glass, when the Devil transforms himself into an Angel of light, when he preacheth Gospel to a man. Beware of the Doctrine when the deceiver preacheth. This may be his Doctrine, He that believeth and is Baptized shall be saved. From this, by Satan's cunning delusion the natural man thus concludes: A mere Heathen shall be shut out of Heaven gates, but I believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, therefore I am in a good condition. Why then should I trouble my self any further? There is no man can accuse me, and my own good works will testify unto me, that I do enough. Strictness in Religion is troubleness, and it is an unreasonable thing to do more: But this is but a mere delusion of Satan, for there is nothing more quiets, and satisfies a man, then Religion; there's nothing in the World more reasonable, then the service of God. First then know thy disease, and then apply those sweet and sovereign Cures. It is no easy matter for a man to believe: We block up the strait ways of God, if we think it an easy matter to believe of our selves. It must be done by the mighty power of God: It's as great a work of God, as the Creation of the World, to make a man believe: It's the mighty power of God to salvation. Such a one must not receive Christ as a Saviour, but as a Lord too. He must renounce all to have him, he must take him on his own terms. He must deny the World and all, looking before hand what it will cost him. Now for a man to take Christ, as his Lord, denying himself, the World, and all, to resolve to pluck out his right eye, cut off his right hand rather then to part with him, and account nothing so dear to him as Christ, is no small matter. Thou canst not be Christs Spouse, unless thou forsake all for him. Thou must account all things as Dung and Dross in comparison of him: And is not this a difficult thing? Is this an easy task? Easily spoken indeed, not as easily ⟨p. 23⟩done: it must be here as in the case of marriage; a man must forsake all others, yea the whole World, else Christ will not own him. Observe the speech of the Apostle,