when men are not abfolutely ignorant of their duty,, but only in comparison of others, who have a far more clear and diftinct knowledge of it; and though they do not grofsly and wilfully neglect the means of further knowledge, yet perhaps they do not make the beft ufe they might of the opportunities they have of. knowing their duty better; and therefore, in comparifon of others who have far better means and advantages of knowing their lord's will, they may be said. not to know it, though they are not fimply ignorant of it, but only have a more obfcure and uncertain knowledge of it. Now this ignorance does in a great meafure excufe fuch perfons, and extenuate their crimes, in comparison of thofe who had a clearer and more perfect knowledge of their mafter's will; and yet it does not free them from all guilt; because they did not live up to that degree of knowledge which they had; and perhaps if they had ufed more care and induftry, they might have known their lord's will better. And this was the cafe of the Hea. then, who, in comparison of thofe who enjoyed the light of the gofpel, might be faid not to have known their lord's will, though, as to many parts of their duty, they had fome directions from natural light, and their confciences did urge them to many things by the obfcure apprehenfion and hopes of a future reward,. and the fear of a future punishment. But this was but a very obfcure and uncertain knowledge, in comparison. of the clear light of the gofpel, which hath discovered to us our duty fo plainly by the laws and precepts of it, and hath prefented us with fuch powerful motives. and arguments to obedience in the promifes and threatenings of it. And this likewife is the cafe of many Chriftians, who either through the natural flowness of their understandings, or by the neglect of their parents and teachers, or other circumftances of their education, have had far lefs means and advantages of knowledge than others. God does not expect fo much from thofe, as from others, to whom he hath given greater capacity, and advantages of knowledge; and. when our Lord shall come to call his fervants to an

account,

account, they fhall be beaten with fewer ftripes than others they fhall not wholly efcape, because they were not wholly ignorant; but by how much they had lefs knowledge than others, by fo much their punishment fhall be lighter..

And there is all the equity in the world it fhouldbe fo, that men fhould be accountable according to what they have received, and that to whom lefs is given, less should be required at their hands. The feripture hath told us, that God will judge the worl in righteoufnefs; now justice does require, that in tax-. ing the punishment of offenders, every thing thould be confidered that may be a juft excufe and extenuation of their crimes, and that accordingly their pu nifhment fhould be abated. Now the greatest exte nuation of any fault is ignorance, which when it ceeds from no fault of ours, no fault can proceed from it; fo that fo far as any man is innocently igno rant of his duty, fo far he is excufable for the neglect of it for every degree of ignorance takes off fo much from the perverfenefs of the will; et nihil ardet in inferno, nifi propria voluntas: "Nothing is punished "in hell, but what is voluntary, and proceeds from 66 our wills."

pro

I do not intend this difcourfe for any commendation of ignorance, or encouragement to it: for knowledge hath many advantages above it, and is much more defireable, if we ufe it well; and if we do not, it is our own fault. If we be not wanting to ourfelves, we may be much happier by our knowledge, than any man can be by his ignorance; for though ignorance may plead an excufe, yet it can hope for no reward; and it is always better to need no excufe, than to have the best in the world ready at hand to plead for ourselves. Befides, that we may do well to confider, that ignorance is no where an excufe where it is cherished; fo that it would be the vaineft thing in the world for any man to fofter it, in hopes thereby to excufe himself; for where it is wilful and chofen, it is a fault, and (as I faid before) it is the most unreasonable thing in the world, that any man's fault fhould prove his excufe. So that this can be no en-L132

courage

couragement to ignorance, to fay that it extenuates the faults of men: for it does not extenuate them, whenever it is wilful and affected; and whenever it is defigned and chofen, it is wilful; and then no man can reasonably defign to continue ignorant, that he. may have an excufe for his faults, because then the ignorance is wilful, and whenever it is fo, it ceaseth to be an excufe.

I the rather speak this, because ignorance hath had! the good fortune to meet with great patrons in the world, and to be extolled, though not upon this account, yet upon another, for which there is lefs pretence of reafon; as if it were the mother of devotion. Of fuperftition I grant it is, and of this we fee plentiful proof among thofe who are fo careful to pres ferve and cherith it: but that true piety and devo tion fhould fpring from it, is as unlikely, as that darkness fhould produce light. I do hope indeed, and charitably believe, that the ignorance in which fome are detained by their teachers and governors, will be a real excufe to as many of them as are otherwife honeft and fincere; but I doubt not, but the errors and faults which proceed from this ignorance, will lie heavy upon thofe who keep them in it. I proceed to the

II. Second obfervation, That the greater advanta ges and opportunities any man hath of knowing the will of God, and his duty, the greater will be his condemnation if he do not do it: The fervant which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to it, fhall be beaten with many Stripes. Which knew bis Lord's will, and prepared not himself; the preparation of our mind to do the will of God, whenever there is occafion and opportu nity for it, is accepted with him. A will rightly dif pofed to obey God, though it be not brought in to act for want of opportunity, does. not lofe its reward: but when, notwithstanding we know our lord's will, there are neither of thefe, neither the act, nor the preparation and refolution of doing it, what punishment may we not expect?

The juft God, in punishing the fins of men, pro

portions

portions the punifliment to the crime, and where the crime is greater, the punishment rifeth; as amongst the Jews, where the crime was small, the malefactor was fentenced to a few stripes; where it was great, he was beaten with many. Thus our Saviour reprefents the great Judge of the world dealing with finners; according as their fins are aggravated, he will add to their punishment. Now after all the aggra vations of fin, there is none that doth more intrinfically heighten the malignity of it, than when it is committed against the clear knowledge of our duty, and that upon thefe three accounts.

1. Because the knowledge of God's will is fo great an advantage to the doing of it.

2. Because it is a great obligation upon us to the doing of it.

3 Because the neglect of our duty in this cafe, cannot be without a great deal of wilfulness and contempt. I fhall speak briefly to these three.

1. Because the knowledge of God's will is fo great an advantage to the doing of it; and every advantage of doing our duty, is a certain aggravation of our neglect of it. And this is the reafon which our Saviour adds here in the text, For to whomsoever much is given, of them much will be required; and to whom · men have committed much, of him they will afk the more. It was, no doubt, a great difcouragement and difadvantage to the Heathen, that they were fo doubtful concerning the will of God, and in many cases· left to the uncertainty of their own reafon, by what way and means they might beft apply themselves to the pleafing of him; and this difcouraged feveral of the wifeft of them from all serious endeavours in religion, thinking it as good to do nothing, as to be mistaken about it. Others that were more naturally devout, and could not fatisfy their confciences without fome expreffions of religion, fell into various fuperftitions, and were ready to embrace any way of worfhip which cuftom prefcribed, or the fancies of men could fuggeft to them; and hence fprang all the ftu pid and barbarous idolatries of the Heathen. For ignorance growing upon the world, that natural propenfion

penfion which was in the minds of men to religion, and the worship of a Deity, for want of certain direction, expreffed itfelf in thofe foolifh and abomi nable idolatries, which were practifed among the Heathen.

And is it not then a mighty advantage to us, that we have the clear and certain direction of divine revelation? We have the will of God plainly discover ed to us, and all the parts of our duty clearly defined and determined; fo that no man, that is in any measure free from intereft and prejudice, can easily mistake in any great and material part of his dutyWe have the nature of God plainly revealed to us, and fuch a character of him given, as is moft fuitable: to our natural conceptions of a Deity, as render him both awful and amiable; for the fcripture reprefents him to us as great and good, powerful and merciful, a perfect hater of fin, and a great lover of mankind and we have the law and manner of his worship, (fo far as was needful) and the rules of a good life clear-ly expreffed and laid down; and as a powerful mo» tive and argument to the obedience of thofe laws, a plain difcovery made to us of the endless rewards and punishments of another world. And is not this a mighty advantage to the doing of God's will, to have it fo plainly declared to us, and fo powerfully inforced upon us? fo that our duty lies plainly before us; we fee what we have to do, and the danger of neglecting it; fo that confidering the advantage we have of doing God's will, by our clear knowledge of it, we are altogether inexcufable if we do it not.

2. The knowledge of our Lord's will is likewife a great obligation upon us to the doing of it. For what ought in reafon to oblige us more to do any thing, than to be fully affured that it is the will of God, and that it is the law of the great Sovereign of the world, who is able to fave, or to deftroy? that it is the pleasure of him that made us, and who hath declared that he defigns to make us happy, by our obedience to his laws? So that if we know thefe things to be the will of God, we have the greatest obligation