Tillotson's Sermons.

These fourteen volumes present us with a magnificent theological armoury in defence of the Christian religion. The ten sermons on the Evidences—if read intelligently to an audience—might do more service to Faith than all the incoherent ravings of professional mountebanks in these singularly illiterate colonies. The scholars of the 17th century, and even those of the 18th, were philosophical divines. Their utterances were oracular. The following are some of the eloquent Archbishop's thoughts on religion:—

The scholars of the 17th century were philosophical divines. Their utterances are oracular—e.g., in former ages of the world, God revealed his will to particular persons in an extraordinary manner, page 15 and more particularly to the Nation of the Jews, the rest of the world being in a great measure left to the conduct of Natural Light. But in these later ages He hath made a public revelation of His will by His Son.

The gospel hath set men free from the obligation of the Moral Law—this is the fundamental and avowed principle of the Antinomian doctrine—that Christ hath purchased for them a liberty to do what they will, and that upon these terms, and no others, they are secure of the favour of God in this world and eternal salvation in the other. This is the sum and the plain result of the Antinomian doctrine, the most pernicious heresy, and most directly destructive of the great end and design of Christianity, that ever yet was preached in the world. Clear revelation of a future judgment was that which made the gospel .so proper and powerful an instrument for the salvation of men. The great blessing of the forgiveness of sins was never sufficiently declared and assured to mankind, but through Jesus Christ in the Gospel.

Pelagianism says that of ourselves we can repent and turn to God, without the necessity of God's grace and the necessity of our co-operating with the grace of God. According to the terms of the Gospel and the Christian religion, the real renovation of our hearts and lives is the great condition of our justification and acceptance with God.

The philosophers were fooled with their own reasonings, in those great arguments of the Being and Providence of God, the immortality of the soul and the rewards of another world, had lost the truth by too much subtlety about it and had disputed themselves into doubt and uncertainty about those things which were naturally known. The philosophy of the heathen gave men no steady assurance of a future state. They had only some fair probabilities of reason and the authority of the poets, who talked they knew not what about the Elysian fields, and the Infernal regions, and the three judges of hell. They, in short, did not dogmatise on what at best they only surmised as fond dreams of heated imagination. Ixion's wheel, Sysiphus' stone, Tantalus' thirst, Posmetheus' chain and vulture, liver and rock, they looked upon these as fantastical representations of something that was real, viz., the grievous and endless punishment of sinners, the not to be endured, and yet perpetually renewed torments of another world.

Honour and greatness, power and authority over others, especially when men are suddenly lifted up, and from a low condition, are apt to transport men to pride and insolency towards others. Power is a strong liquor which does easily intoxicate weak minds, and make them apt to say and do indecent things. It is certain, if there were no devil, many would be wicked, and perhaps not much less wicked than they are.

Did actually fire come out or the foundations and destroy the workmen, when it was attempted, three several times, to rebuild the temple? Christian writers say so: as well as Ammianus Marcellinus, the heathen historian.

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That God was not to be appeased towards sinners, merely upon their repentance, without the death and suffering of some other one in their stead, and that God would accept of this vicarious punishment and suffering, instead of the death of the sinner himself: that God was not to be immediately approached by sinful man—these ancient notions are the basis of Judaism and Christianism. Hence sacrifices and mediators, under the Old, and a sacrifice and mediator under the New Testament. This is the method of our redemption, as it was by the wisdom of God admirably suited to the common apprehensions of mankind, concerning the necessity of a sacrifice to make expiation of sin, and of a mediator to intercede with God for sinners. It cannot be made to appear, that there were any prayers to Saints, in the public offices of the Church, till towards the end of the eighth century.

The better the man is, so much the more conspicuous are his faults. Every man that hath any spark of generosity in him, is desirous of fame. Death removes and takes away the chief obstacle of a good man's reputation. Death hath put him out of the reach of malice and envy, his worth and example do now no longer stand in other men's light. He that hath no regard to his fame, is lost to all purposes of virtue and goodness. When a man is once come to this, not to care what others say of him, the next step is, to have no care what himself does. Quod conscientia est apud deum, id fama est apud homines, what conscience is in respect of God, that is fame in respect of men.

The very best of the saints, so disguised by their legends, that instead of the substantial virtues of a good life, their story is made up of false and fantastical miracles, and ridiculous freaks of superstition. Caraculla hated all good men, whilst they were alive, yet he would pretend to honour them when they were dead. How great a sin they are guilty of, who persecute the righteous, and how terrible a vengeance from God waits on them.

The Epicureans attribute nothing but eternity and happiness to God. Happiness without goodness is impossible. Their notion of a Deity was that of an idle Being, that neither does good nor evil. He had no regard to anything without himself; neither gave being to other things, nor concerned himself in the happiness or misery of any of them.

The Stoic philosophers do blasphemously advance their wise and virtuous man above God himself, for a wise man is good out of choice, but God out of necessity.

Epictetus says that the brute beasts being made for the service of man, they ought to be furnished with those things, that they may be always in readiness to serve their Lord and master; a plain evidence that they were made to serve man, and not man to serve them. Epictetus doth very ingeniously argue that the creatures below man, have all things in a readiness, nature having provided for them meals, drink, and lodging, so that they have no absolute need that any should build houses, or make clothes, or store up provisions, or prepare or dress meat for them.