YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY SERMONS ON DIFFERENT SUBJECTS, BY THE LATE REVEREND JOHN JORTIN, D. D. ARCHDEACON OF LONDON, RECTOR OF ST. DUNSTAN's IN THE BAST, AND VICAR OF KENSINGTON. TO WHICH ARE ADDED, BT THE SAME AUT«OR, TIIH DOCTRINE OF A FUTURE STATE, AS IT MAY BE COLLECTED FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT; AND FOUR CHARGES TO THE CLERGY OF THE ARCHDEACONRY OF LONDON. IN FOUR VOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON: Frinted % Richard Taylor, and Co., Shoe Lane, FOR JOHN WHITE, FLEET-STREET ; LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME, PATERNOSTER ROW; F. C. AND 3. RIVINGTON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD; VERNOR, HOOD, AND SHARPE, POULTRY ; AND F. WINGR.AVE, IN THE STRAND. — — ^— 1809. CONTENTS OP THE THIRD VOLUME. SERMONS I, II, III. Duty to God, to our Neighbour, and to Ourselves. Titus ii. 11, 12. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying Ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. p. 1, 14, 28 SERMON IV. Apostolical Authority. Luke vi. 13. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples; and of them he chose twelve, whom he also named mpostles. p. 42 SERMON V. Matth. xxiii. 9. Call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father which is in heaven. p. 55 SERMONS VI— XIII. The Ten Commandments. Exodus xx. 2—17. I am the Lord thy God. — Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. p. 67 Vol. III. a iy CONTENTS. / the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the ini quities of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and show ing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, arid keep my commandments. p. 80 Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain : for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taheth his name in vain. p. 93 Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. p. 106, 121 Honour thy father and thy mother ; that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee. p. 134 Thou shalt not kill. p. 148 Thou shalt not covet — any thing that is thy neighbour's. p. 161 SERMONS XIV, XV. On the Law of Moses. Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgements unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation ; and as for his judgements, they have not known them. p. 17s, 188 SERMONS XVI, XVII. Christ's Yoke. Matth. xi. 30. My yoke is easy, and my burthen is light, p. 200, 212 SERMON XVIII. Heb. xiii. 9. Be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines. p. 225 CONTENTS. v SERMONS XIX, XX. Woman of Canaan. Matth. xv. 22. And behold, a ivoman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David ; my daughter is grievously vexed tvith a devil. p. 239, 251 SERMON XXI. , Prov. xiii. 20. He that ivalketh with wise men shall be wise. p. 264 SERMON XXII. Prov. i. 1, 2. The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel ; To know ivisdom and instruction. p. 276 SERMON XXIII. Prov. xv. 14. The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh know ledge, p. 289 SERMON XXIV. Prov. xx. 12. , The hearing ear, and the seeing eye, the Lord hath made even both of them. p. S02 SERMON XXV. 1 Tim. i. 17. Unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. p. 315 SERMON XXVI. Rom. x. 17. So then, faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God, p. 328 xi CONTENTS. SERMON XXVII. Rom. xii. 1. / beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. p, 341 SERMON XXVIII. Rom. xii. 2. Be not conformed to this world : but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. p. 354 SERMON XXIX. Rom. xii. 3. For I say, through the grace given to me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, accord ingly as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. p. 367 SERMON XXX. Rom. xii. 4, 5. For as ive have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office : so we being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. p. 38p SERMON XXXI. Rom. xii. 11. ¦usiness ; fervent in spirit ; serving the Jsord. p. 392 SERMON XXXII. Prayer. Rom. xii. 12. Continuing instant in prayer. p. 405 CONTENTS. vii SERMON XXXIII. Prodigal Son. Luke xv. 18. / will arise,' and go to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. p. 418 SERMON XXXIV. Elder Son. Luke xv. 31. And he said unto him, Son, thou art always with me, and all that I have is thine. p. 430 SERMON XXXV. John xi. 25. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life ; lie that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveih, and believeth in me, fhall never die. p. 443 SERMON I. Titus ii. 11, 12. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world. J. HE Gospel of Jesus Christ, saith St. Paul, is revealed to us, and the design of it is to teach and enable us to behave ourselves here in such a manner that we may ob tain eternal life. Thus the words of the text contain in them a compendious representation of the whole duty of man, namely, faith and good works. What relates to faith is rather intimated than expressed : but it is very plainly intimated ; for, since this perfect rule of life is discovered by the Gospel, doubtless we must re ceive the Gospel, and assent to it, and this is faith. As to practice, we must live soberly, righteously, and godly. Sobriety contains -our duty to ourselves, righteous ness, our duty to our neighbour, and godliness, our duty to God j and these duties are closely connected, and often coincide with one another and with Christian faith. I shall at present consider that part of our duty which relates more directly to God, and is called godliness, though the word godliness or piety often stands for all religion in general. In the first place, then, Christianity commands us to be lieve that there is one God the Creator and Father of all. This is the foundation of religion ; faith in God is the ground and support of all goodness, and may itself in Vol. III. B 2 SERMON' E. some sense be accounted a virtue, since it ariseth from sober consideration, from a regard to truth and goodness, and must be kept alive by the same means ; and since a vicious and debauched mind is strongly disposed to doubt whether there be an invisible Creator and Lord of all, and to wish that there were norte. A belief in God is faith, and not sight, because the object of it is He who is not to be perceived by our senses,' or comprehended by our imagination ; but it is a faith founded upon reason, and supported by convincing argu ments, of which the most plain and familiar are the frame and order and disposition of the visible world, the general consent of mankind, and the general usefulness of < the doctrine itself, which is adapted to do us good, and which cannot possibly do us any harm. Moreover the Christian religion teacheth us to enter* tain just and honourable notions of God's perfections, both those which we commonly call natural perfections^ such as eternity, and infinite power ; and those which we call moral perfections, as holiness, justice, goodness*; and mercy. The Scriptures frequently remind us of both^ as being proper to excite in us a fear and a love of God. They cannot be said to entertain right conceptions of the Deity, who extol his power, and his absolute and un- cOntrolable dominion over his creatures ; but represent him at the same time as ruling in a way, which in any: other being we should call arbitrary and cruel. This can never be' reconciled with the common notions of holiness, ~ J — - J~iess ; nor with the Scriptures, which -~r . , lo'Veitself, who is good to all, and whoso tender mercies are over all his works. It was long a^o- cibserved,' that there never :was any opinion, how absurd soever ,:' which -Was-not maintained- by some or other of the-ancient-philosOphers; but. yet there are not to be found- even amoogst-thein any such hateful sentiments concern- SERMON I. 3 ing God's transactions with men. To suppose that God hath doomed his creatures to eternal misery, for being in a state of sin which they cannot avoid, and out of which he will not help them, this, I say, is such a manifest con tradiction to the divine perfections, that no men could pos sibly have entertained it, if they had not misunderstood some texts of Scripture, and taken it for a doctrine of revealed religion. They who entertain just thoughts of God, and declare them upon all proper occasions, may be said to hallow or sanctify his name; which that all persons may do, we are taught by our Saviour to wish in out daily prayers. In this the Gentiles failed greatly, who ascribed to their deities human vices, and honoured them with impure and cruel rites. The Jews were not entirely free from fault in this respect, being much inclined to represent God as caring only for their nation, and regardless of the Gen tiles ; and indeed all Christians have not sufficiently avoided the same errors. Thesethings are of the more importance, because they who judge amiss concerning the perfections and the go vernment of God, are much inclined to imitate all the defects which they ascribe to him. It is. a great violation of our duty to God, to interpose his holy name in things of no consequence, or ^ which is far worse, in confirmation of things which are false. Therefore our Lord hath not only forbidden perjury, but oaths upon trivial occasions ; even those oaths, in which care was taken to avoid mentioning the name, of God. Whosoever understands how sacred the divine Majesty is, and how many and how great benefits we have re-* ceived,^ and have room to hope and expect from, our Creator, cannot think of him without the deepest reve rence, and will never name hira in a rash and ludicrous manner,- nor call upon him to be witness to a falsehood. B2 4 SERMON I. This wicked behaviour was frequent amongst both Jews and Gentiles, and is no less frequent amongst persons' who call themselves Christians ; but it hath been detested and condemned by all serious and wise men in all times and places. With this reverence towards God is joined a love to him. If we have any sense of his goodness and fa vour towards us his unworthy creatures, we cannot refuse him our love. This love consists, first, in a grateful sense of his benefits ; secondly, in a desire of pleasing him, which shall be strong and active enough to overcome all contrary desires, so that our heart shall not be divided between God and any object which God condemns. This duty Moses enjoined, and our Saviour enforced, and re presented as the first and great commandment. Other love towards God than this the Scriptures know not : they never recommend those warm transports and that bold familiarity which some zealots affect, nor that refined and mysterious devotion which another sort of visionaries require, who say that we must love God for himself alone, artd without any regard to the benefits we receive from him ; for, first, the love of God is reason and not passion, reverence and not presumption ; secondly, it is gratitude, and we love him because he first loved us. The love of God cannot lie concealed in the breast, but will shine forth, and show itself by good works, particu larly by a love of mankind, as the Scriptures assure us. Without this behaviour;, in vain do we profess to love God, ™k^ ,.Qw„;,-o ~f .iS reai pvoofs, and not idle words. ship which is due to God alone. Wor ship, or adoration, when it means a religious duty paid to God," is of two kinds. There is a worship of the body, and" there "is a worship of the mind. By the worship of the body, which hath been various in various times and places, is to be understood a humble posture, by which SERMON I. 5 persons intend to acknowledge the supreme dominion of him to whom this reverence is paid. By the worship or adoration of the mind, is meant that submissive disposi tion, by which we own and profess that He whom we adore is endued with all perfections, andjthat we depend wholly upon him, and from him expect all our happiness. Therefore God, as he is the Creator, the Lord, the Pro tector, and the Father of all, ordered himself alone to be adored in this manner both in body and spirit : which our Saviour hath also confirmed, when he said to Satan, It is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve; him only, in opposition to false gods ; for, as St. Paul says, Though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there be gods many and lords many, yet to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we to him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. . And our Saviour saith that the Father hath committed all judgement to the Son, that all men may honour the Son, as they honour the Father. The Gentiles notoriously transgressed this command ment, worshipping any thing, and every thing ; as if it were lawful for mortal men to confer divine honours upon this or that object, as flattery or fancy should direct; than which nothing more absurd could easily be imagined, nor more injurious to the majesty of God. The Law and the Gospel teach us that in God alone our confidence should be placed, because he alone can and will do all things for us, and will never deceive our - reasonable hopes, whilst in created beings there is neither that all-commanding power, nor that invariable . will of doing good, nor that never-failing constancy in perform ing promises. So that -reliance or trust is no inconsider able part of our duty towards God. It relates in some de- 6 SERMON I. gree to the things of this life, which God promiseth to his servants, so far as he judgeth fit, and conducing to their true interest. But it principally hath in view the endless happiness of the next world, which we should ac count to be our chief good. And because our Lord hath given us clearer promises of life eternal than had been revealed before, and con firmed them by many proofs, and by his own glorious resurrection and ascension, the reliance which we place in God should be proportionably stronger and steadier. This reliance is a part of Christian faith, and is connected with obedience ; and hence we may see that faith is deservedly extolled by the sacred writers, since it contains in itself, or in its genuine effects, the whole duty of man. Since in many things we all offend, since we ought to deplore our omissions and commissions, and to wish that we may perform a better service for the future ; since we are continually contending with temptations, by which if we be finally overcome, we have no longer a claim to the promises of the Gospel, God hath commanded us to ad dress ourselves to him for the pardon and the succour of which we stand in need. He wanteth not our prayers, to be informed of our weaknesses and necessities, or to be en treated and importuned as a difficult master, who will sell his favours upon no other terms. Nothing moved him to create us, but his own nature overflowing with bene ficence. He hath granted us many blessings which we had no notion of requesting, as redemption by Christ, Df the Gospel, and all the benefits which arise irom mese and are connected with them. He hath imposed upon us the duty of prayer purely for our own sakes, and to make us better and happier. For when we pray to him, we call to mind our past follies and offences and at the same time his infinite goodness, which forgives them upon our repentance, * and we become sensible that SERMON I. 7 we depend upon him in all respects ; whence naturally arise gratitude towards so kind a benefactor, and earnest desires to obey and please him. Hence also will this con sideration present itself to us, that if the compassionate and placable nature of God be so amiable, and in our sight -the brightest and the fairest of all the divine perfec tions, we ought to imitate.it in our behaviour tuvards others, and be merciful even as he. is. merciful, and like him forgive those who trespass against us. Three things are requisite to make our prayers accept able to God : First, We must ask of God the things which are really and invariably good ; such as the knowledge of moral and religious truth, the remission of sins, the divine as sistance, and eternal life, all which are intimately united, and neither can or ought to, be separated. For other good things .we are permitted to. ask; but this exception is al ways to be made or understood, that God would supply our wants and satisfy our natural and innocent desires in such a measure and manner as shall seem best to him, -who knoweth better than we, what is expedient for us. -Secondly, We.- must make our requests to God with acquiescence. and humility. We must not prescribe, to Jum what he should grant us; nor ever repine and mur mur, if temporal blessings be withholden from us. Thirdly, We must be fully, sensible that we can have ¦, no certain ^access to him, no security of his favour, unless we endeavour to conform our behaviour to his precepts ; : for it is not -reasonable that he should comply with the jf requests of- those who- refuse _ to comply with his holy :, will. Thus much our Saviour intimates,, when he, directs • .us to ask in his name. To ask in the name of Christ is ^.the same thing as to .profess. before God. that, we are in- ae-deed the disciples and the servants., of his Son,. and, upon 1^ th^t account to -beg and to hope that be,, wjji extend ..his $ SERMON I. goodness towards us. But no person can have any pre tence to make use of the name of Christ who pays no re gard to the conditions which Christ requires of his fol lowers. And because the love of our neighbour is not less our duty than the love of God, therefore we are taught to. extend our prayers beyond our own private necessities ; and whatsoever blessings we would gladly receive our selves, we should also wish for all mankind. Vehemence and earnestness is commendable in our prayers, but it is then only commendable when we ask for life eternal and for the means conducing to it. A strong desire and a warm importunity to be delivered from temporal' calamities, or to be enriched with temporal bless ings, is a temper to which religion hath made no favour able promises. St. Paul earnestly besought the Lord that he might be delivered from the angel of Satan who buf feted him. But this request was not granted, because it was more to his true advantage to labour under that in convenience, whatsoever it was, than to be freed from it. And he as a wise and good man acquiesced in the divine will. Although the Jews were furnished both with precepts and with examples of prayer in the books of Moses and of the prophets, yet was" this duty neither completely taught, nor perfectly understood, because the express and. literal promises in the law were temporal ; so that they seldom seem to have asked for any thing higher, but omlta^ . p.® to filings spiritual, to have requested in ge- ;.«.*,. ,M U.-_ — , our of God. And yet the good men, who lived under that dispensation, were certainly not without hopes . of a better, state beyond the grave, and trusted in God that he would in some manner provide for them hereafter according to his wisdom and goodness.. We -do not find ,in the books of the Old Testament every SERMON T. 9 thing that is requisite to set the nature of prayer in a true light and to the best advantage ; and we must make some suitable abatements and allowances on account of the more imperfect knowledge of those times. However, we find in those sacred -writings many excellent examples of piety, of humility, of religious trust and confidence in God. The wiser Pagans have also made some good observa tions concerning prayer ; and particularly they have re marked that men- ought not rashly to ask of the deity whatsoever their childish and irregular and ignorant de sires lead them to wish. They have recommended this short form of prayer, which certainly is modest artd judi cious ; Grant us, O Lord, the things which are good for us, whether we ask, or ask not, for them ; and the things which would be hurtful, withhold from us, though we should ask for them. But, besides that the wiser Pagans had some false notions concerning the deity, the common sort observed no rules of decency and prudence in their prayers. So that Christianity in this, as in many other respects, greatly surpassed the religion of the wisest Pa gans and Jews. With our prayers to God are to be joined praises and thanksgivings to him for his glorious works, and for all the "'great and lasting benefits which with a liberal hand he pours down upon men. The Psalms of David, and in deed all the books of the holy Scriptures are full of ex hortations to celebrate the power, and wisdom, and cle mency of God. The thing is of itself most reasonable, and whilst we perform it sincerely and heartily, we daily find the good effects of it. For besides the perpetual ex ercise of gratitude, the oftener we consider m our minds and distinctly examine the benefits and the works of God, the more easily we are induced to obey him, and the more effectually deterred from a vicious life. And this is one great reason why God requires from us these acts 10 SERMON I. of piety towards him. No benefit and profit can accrue to him from our praises and thanks; nor would he be the less happy, though we passed over all his favours in stupid silence. Therefore it is for our own sakes that God demands this easy tribute from us. He is indeed said in Scripture to have made and done all for his own glory and praise ; but the profit and the benefit of ho nouring him redound upon us. True it is that God- is pleased with our piety, and our dutiful returns, because they are suitable both to his nature and to our own. He hath made all things for his own honour ; this was one end : But another end was, that he might exercise his un speakable goodness towards all objects capable of receiv ing it. The writers of the Gospels teach us to obey the divine -precepts, not as slaves who fear a passionate, unreason able and rigid master, but as children who cheerfully Comply with the directions and advice of a kind parent, which they know to be intended for their good. But though the Gospel in this respect surpasseth- the Jewish dispensation, and treats us as sons, and brings us into a state of liberty, we must not imagine that- the ser vice which it demands is something slight and superficial, and requiring no pains and application ; for it orders fus to put off inordinate desires and evil affections,, and, if- it should "ever prove necessary, to lay -down .and lose alh .nather than to part : with our religion and offend-God. '. Such an obedience is' indeed difficult to those whoarein- ul security, and Igve the world immode rately, ana are not deeply affected with the rewards- and punishments of the next, state :^ but it may be practised by those who can govern themselves, and who have a lively n sense of the gr^at: advantages present and -future which are secured by. piety.; and* by .such it is more- easily. ob served than a heavy multitude of rites and ceremonies. . '-0 • !;>.r SERMON I. 11 This Christian obedience is described in the New Testa ment by different words and expressions. Sometimes it is called, to love God, sometimes to fear and reverence him. We may be said to love God when we think ho nourably of him, gratefully acknowledge his goodness, and prefer his commands to all other considerations. The fear ot God is a fear lest by an improper behaviour we should show ourselves unthankful to our best Benefactor; it is a fear lest we should incur his displeasure, not only because he can deprive us of happiness and inflict punish ments upon us, but principally because, he is so good to us, and imposes nothing upon us which it is not our in terest to perform. Christ also required of his followers to show openly their faith and love and reverence towards God, to confess their Saviour before men, upon all proper occasions, to excite others to the same disposition and. behaviour, and to meet together for the exercise of religious duties. He also declared, that wheresoever his'servants should be as sembled together in' his name, he would be spiritually with them. He also promised that, his church should never be destroyed, that it should last till the consum mation of all things ; which promise he hath hitherto ful filled for more than seventeen hundred years. As- to the order and method that should be observed in such as semblies, he gave no particular precepts, but left it to his apostles. Religious government, like civil government, is absolutely necessary in some form or other ; but all forms of government are in their own nature indifferent, and so Christian nations have a right to appoint that which suits them best, remembering the direction of the apostle, Let all things be done decently and in order." And because men are more affected with actions than with words, and all religions1 had theirceremonies, it was fit that Christians should have something of this kind. There fore Christ appointed two religious rites, but very easy, very 12 SERMON t plain and simple, and most remote from vain pomp, ojr superstition, by which Christians should profess their be lief in him, acknowledge themselves his servants, keep his benefits in remembrance, and declare their friendship for each other. One was baptism, which was no new thing to the Jews, for it bad been practised by them, and also by John the Baptist ; nor was it less known to the Gentiles. By this ceremony of initiation, Christians de clared themselves servants of God, and of Christ, and of the holy Ghost, were reminded that they must cleanse themselves from iniquity, and live a more pure and holy life, and that as they descended into the water and rose up from it, so they must die to sin and rise again to righteousness. The other was the Lord's Supper, which he instituted in memory of his death, and which shows that they who eat together of the same bread, and drink of the same cup, should account each other as brethren who belong to one family. At the same time Ghristians profess that they continue in that covenant which. Christ ratified by his blood, and that they will endeavour to obey his precepts and to follow his example. These are ceremonies easy to be performed, and as easy to be un derstood, if we will content ourselves with the account which the writers of the New Testament have given of them. From all that hath been said it appears that the end and design of religion was not td afflict and oppress us, but to make us happy. God can take no pleasure in the mi- ; of men : he created us to do us good, not to do us harm. He gave us freedom of action, with out which we could neither practise nor understand vir tue ; but the consequence of freedom is, that we are changeable and capable of transgressing. Therefore he, hath also given us laws, instructions, motives, encou ragements, and assistances. It must be confessed that no man, except our Saviour, ever performed the whole of SERMONT. 13 his duty so perfectly, that he could claim rewards from God on that account. But; God requireth not of his ser vants this sublime holiness ; he requires of them that they should preserve themselves from obstinate impenitence and from vicious habits, and, when they have trespassed, that they should repent and amend. Great reason have they therefore to return him continual thanks, and to ac knowledge his infinite mercy, which thus stoops and con descends to their infirmity. If God, without any apparent cause for it, had re quired of men costly gifts, and sacrifices which might have reduced them to poverty, and the observation of difficult and unimproving ceremonies, these indeed would have been hard laws : but the Christian religion imposeth nothing like this upon us. If the Gentiles believed that such things were required from them, they fell into such errors through their own fault, through the mean conT ceptions which they entertained concerning the Dtity. If the Jews were in some measure burdened with laws of this nature, the reason was, because they had corrupted themselves, and fallen into many of the errors of the Gen tiles; so that God, as a lawgiver, was obliged, if we may use that expression, to give them precepts suitable, not so much to his own nature, and to the dictates of reason, as to their' carnal minds and stubborn temper. And yet he by his prophets instructed them in the superior excel lence of morality, and invited them to repentance., with favourable promises of pardon and acceptance, and un folded to therfi the spiritual part of religion at intervals, and by degrees, as they were capable of receiving it. So that in this also they had great reason to praise anci, cele brate his long' Suffering and goodness. Thus much may suffice concerning pur duty to GqcJ, as far as it may 'be distinguished from our duty, to oiui neighbour and': to ourselves. ? - that we neither fly out into an unseemly aults of others, nor into railing and re viling, nor harbour malice and revenge in our hearts. We are all of us offended at insolence, contempt, angers and ill usage ; we are pleased when we meet with a con trary behaviour ; and consequently this dislike and- this approbation should be a rule, to us in our conduct to- SERMON IE 17 Wards others. Therefore Christ condemns anger and its effects, and shows that he gives a more excellent pre cept than is contained in the Mosaic law; for, having ob served that the law forbad murder, Thou shalt not kill; he adds, But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgement. This is to be understood of unjust and im moderate anger, which is joined with a desire- of revenge, or with a proud and ill-grounded scorn of our neighbour: for we may be angry, when the cause is just, when we keep our anger within due bounds, when it hath no other aim than self-preservation,- when it is accompanied with a design of reforming the offender, and not of doing him an injury, and when it excludes not a readiness to forgive him, and to be reconciled to him upon his amend ment. Be ye angry, and sin not, says St. Paul ; and let not the sun go down upon your wrath ; — but let all bit terness, and clamour, and evil-speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. Christ himself was filled with anger and indignation against some of the Jews ; but at the same time he was ready to be reconciled to them, and to receive them favourably, if they would have returned to their duty, and his last words were a prayer to God to forgive them. By meekness and humanity contentions and quarrels are avoided, with all their pernicious consequences, and the friendship, good-will and esteem of the world is Usually secured. But care is to be taken that instead of these virtues we fall not into those vices which have a re semblance of them, and lie concealed under that fair and false appearance : such is a feigned civility and com plaisance, which., often covers a base and perfidious heart ; flattery, which is as ready to commend or excuse vice, as to praise what is praiseworthy ; and a mean compliance, which approves or seems to approve the worst of actions. Vol. III. C 18 SERMON II. These are as hurtful as meekness and humanity are useful to society. These virtues St. Paul hath in view, when in his Epistle to the Romans he exhorts Christians, In honour to prefer one another, to show respect and civility to others, with out waiting to see whether they will show as much- to us. And St. Peter's direction is, Honour all men. If there fore rudeness and inhumanity, and harshness of behaviour be found in Christians, and in Christians who pretend to great holiness and zeal and piety, this is not to be laid to the charge of Christianity, or of those who first preached it ; but it is the fault of those who understand not, or are not willing to understand, the plain precepts of the Gospel. 5. To these virtues is fitly joined the love of peace and concord, both in things relating to this world, and in things relating to religion, whether they be matters of belief, or rites and ceremonies and discipline. But as all virtues have a natural union, and can never disagree without ceasing to be what they are, the love of peace must always be joined with the love of truth and righte ousness ; and concord is to be so pursued that we injure not the duty which we owe to God and to ourselves. The regard due to peace requires of every person that he seek not only his own particular profit and convenience, but the advantage of others, and the common good of society ; and by such methods public peace is settled and preserved. But because every person hath his own private pos- Rpssionq ix/Ithnut which he cannot support himself and mpossible for us to live in concord with those who endeavour to wrong and defraud us ; we must at least avoid such a person, as an enemy with whom we can hold no intercourse : and likewise if any one by threats and violence would force us to act contrary to truth and virtue, even the sincerest lover of peace musS SERMON $1, j.9 renounce :cdl society with such a tyrant, lest he .should give up those things which in their own nature $re most; excellent and most useful to mankind, and which God hath expressly commanded us never tp forsake. If it be possible, says the apostle;, as far as in you lieth, live peaceably with all men : as far as reason and religion per mit, be at peace with others, and let not matters of,sm*dl consequence, or those faulfs and defects >from which none is entirely free, interrupt and destroy that union. Christians are members of two societies; as they are men, they belong to the country in which they are born or settled ; and as they are Christians, they belong to the church of Christ. But as this Qhurch universal, or .catholic church, is dispersed over the earth, ^and cannot assemble togother, it was evemfrpm ancient :times. divided -into particular and national churches. Every Christian then should be desirous and willing ito join himself to his own .national church, if he can do it with a safe con science ; and in this affair, he should not give way to small and endless" scruples, nor. expect that every thing sho.uid.be conducted exactly as he could wish ; for per fection dwelleth not here below,- and wise men must either bear with some. things which they do not approve and cannot mend, or they must form a religion for them selves, and serve God all alone ; which is by no means agreeable with mutual edification and whh .the .social na ture of Christianity. >But when things are cometo such a pass in any nation, that Christians are required to reject and abjure evident truths, to japprovemonstrous . absurdities, and flagrant con tradictions, . to sacrifice reason and common sense to a thing most improperly called faith, and to pay a blind ,and slavish obedience to the doctrines and to the false doc trines of men, such. a church cannot be accounted a truly religious society, nor is it lawful to hold communion with 20 SERMON II. her. For these and other weighty reasons our ancestors separated themselves from the court and the see of Rome, and began the Reformation. The apostles, at first, did not separate themselves from the Jews, though they differed greatly from them, as long as they were permitted in the synagogues to profess their belief in Christ, to preach his doctrine, and to reject every thing contrary to it ; but when this liberty was no longer granted to them, they held their own assemblies apart, and forsobk the synagogue. After this some dis sension arose in the Christian congregations which were formed of converted Jews and Gentiles; for the Jews stuck obstinately to their old rites and ceremonies, and the Gentiles refused to observe them. But because in other respects the Gospel was obeyed by both, and neither were compelled to do any thing that they held to be un lawful, this difference of opinion was to be . mutually tolerated, as St. Paul declares. As for himself, to the weak he became weak, that he might gain the weak: he was made all things to all men, that he might by all means save some. The meaning is, that he thought it a part of Christian prudence to comply with his brethren in matters indifferent, and to gratify them in all things consistent with Christianity. 6. For the same causes Christ commands us to pass over injuries, whether they affect our goods, our repu tation, or our body, if they are such as may be borne without great detriment ; and permits us not on such oc- rasinns rn avpnge ourselves, or to have recourse to the civil magistrate for redress. The law of Moses laid no great restraint upon the Jews in this re spect ; and somewhat more of forbearance is required from us than was from them. Ye have heard says our Lord, that it hath been said, An eye for an eye but I say unto you, Resist not evil. The best commentators SERMON II. 21 have showed that these and the like precepts, if rightly understood, are in themselves very fit, and very profitable to society ; for, whilst we connive at a small offence or injury, we put a stop to much hatred and strife and vari ance, of which there would be no end if no man would put up any affront. Besides, it often comes to pass that he who hath done the wrong is softened and reclaimed by Christian lenity. But in greater injuries, nothing hinders' a man from seeking the assistance of the laws and of the magistrate, or, if that cannot be done, from acting in his own defence; for indeed without such a permission no civil society could subsist, and all good men would in a manner be bound hand and foot, and delivered up to the vilest of mankind. There have been some few of exalted minds amongst the Gentiles who disapproved and condemned revenge. But our Saviour hath carried the duty further*, and hath told us that we must love our enemies, and return good for evil, and pray for those who use us despitefully, and imitate our heavenly Father, who is kind even to the un thankful and to the wicked. Many of the Jews and Gentiles Recounted revenge to be lawful, -and derided Christian patience as a practice absurd and contrary to human nature. Yet what the Gospel requires of this kind, if we mistake it not, is very commendable. If we had been commanded to show particular friendship to wicked men who revile and injure us, to account them worthy and honest persons, to fur nish them with power and opportunity to hurt us, and not to be upon our guard against them, these indeed would have been hard sayings. But it is not so : we are commanded to love them so far as to pity their faults and follies, and to show them such lenity, forbearance and kindness", such humanity and civility as can be of no detriment to us, to pray to God for their repentance, 22 SERMON II. arid if they prove by their behaviour that they repent and are amended, to receive them into favour. None can say that these precepts are impracticable. On the contrary, they are sO reasonable, that without mu tual indulgences of this kind human society can hardly subsist, and frail and fallible creatures cannot live together in tolerable peace and order, unless patience and forgive- riess be in some degree approved and exercised. 7. If Christ requires of us thus to bear and to pardon wrongs and offences, and to return good for evih much more doth he expect that we should love our friends and benefactors, and requite kindnesses with the same, or, if it be possible, with greater favours. If therefore the apo stles had been silent concerning gratitude, yet it had been plain enough that the whole tenour of the New Testament required this virtue. But our Saviour commended the gratitude of the Samaritan leper, who returned to give him thanks for his cure ; and St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Go- lossiaris, having exhorted them to meekness, long-suffer ing, forbearance, and charity, adds these words ; And be ye thankful ; that is, be grateful both to God and man. And in his second Epistle to Timothy, describing those wicked men who should arise in the church, he says that they should be lovers of their ownselves, and unthankful. 8. The duties above mentioned relate to all men in ge neral, and are to be practised by every one through the whole course of his life. There are besides these, duties particular to each person according to his age, rank, con- relation in which he stands to Others. Such aic me uuues of husbands and wives, of parents and chil dren, of masters and servants, of young and old. Marriage is reduced by our Saviour to its original insti tution, as it was in the beginning, before the passions of men had broken through the rules which right reason prescribed, arid by polygamy had brought poverty, jea- SERMON II. 23 lousy, and discord into houses, and many troubles and mischiefs into the world ; to which had been added an other evil, that of frequent divorces upon frivolous causes. The Gospel requires of those who enter into this state that they pass their days together in concord and friend* ship, and in a joint care of their families. The Gospel requires that behaviour from parents to children and from children to parents, which all wise men must approve. It commands parents to educate their children in the fear of God, and to give them all necessary instruction and maintenance, and neither to spoil them by foolish indulgence, nor to use them harshly and imperi ously and provoke them to wrath, by which they will alienate their affection, and may drive them to take bad courses. They are to be guided by admonishment and reason, unless they be of incorrigible dispositions. It commands children to honour and love and succour their parents, to obey them in all things, and in the Lord, that is, in all things which are agreeable to Christianity, or not contrary to it ; for, in that case, He that loveth father or mother more than me, says our Lord, is not worthy of me. But this is a plea for disobedience that rarely happens : and there is more danger in Christian nations, that chil dren should pay too little than too much respect to father and mother. One of the great evils which monkery brought into the Christian world, was the inveigling and stealing of young persons, and receiving them into reli gious orders without the consent and against the consent of their parents. In this the monks acted like true disciples of the Pharisees, who compassed sea and land to make proselytes, and who also taught children to disobey their parents : and you will find it to have been and to be the practice of all fanatics of every sort and tribe, to seduce young people from that deference which they ought to pay 24 SERMON II. to those whom God and nature have appointed for then? guides and guardians in their tender years. . In the time when the Gospel was first preached, servants for the most part were slaves ; and as many of these were converted to Christianity, with or without their masters, it was to be feared lest they should take too much upon them, and think too well of themselves, by entering into a religion which commanded all men to treat one another as brethren. This might have brought a discredit upon the Gospel, and have been a hinderance of its progress. Therefore St. Peter arid St. Paul earnestly exhort servants or slaves to obey their masters, and to be industrious and honest, and dutifully to serve not only the just and gentle, but the harsh and froward. ( The law of nature knows no such thing as slavery, for by nature all men are free and equal : but by the civil laws and by the practice of nations it was established, and it still continues amongst those who know not the , Gospel ; and, the more is the shame and the pity, it is to- be found in some places where Christianity is professed. The religion of Christ, when it first made its progress in the world, left the civil laws of nations, in a great measure, as it found them, lest by altering or repealing them it should , bring confusion and disturbance into human society; but as by its own genius and tendency it leads men gently back to the precepts of nature and equity, to kindness and to mercy, it put an end by degrees, in most civilized places, to that excessive distance and difference between masters and slaves, which owed its original to outrage and war, to mity : so that in Christian countries the service which is performed is usually, as it ought tovbe3 voluntary and by agreement. But what the writers of the New Testament have said concerning slaves, holds true concerning hired servants, and all those who. are employed in other denominations SERMON H. 25 under a master, that they discharge the?r office modestly, diligently, and willingly, and act with faithfulness and in* tegrity in every thing that is committed to them. To all masters the Gospel enjoins that they be good and just, forbearing haughtiness, insolence and threatening, and remembering that they also have a master in heaven. The same sort of directions may be applied to all who are invested with power in any office or station, and to all who are ptaced under their government. Of those who are appointed to teach Christianity, it is required that they study and endeavour to preach it in its own native and amiable simplicity, even as it is conr tained in the holy^Scriptures, and that their aim and inten tion be to do honoyr to religion, and to make men wiser and better. This also tends to create and preserve a rnu- tual esteem between those who teach, and those who are taught, than which there can be nothing more desirable both to the one and to the other ; for the. world passeth away with all its concerns, but the good effect of brotherly love and Christian edification is stable and permanent. Of young people it is required that they be of a teach able and tractable temper, and that they furnish them selves by times with useful knowledge and skill, which will enable them to live contentedly and reputably. It is also required of them, that they pay respect to the aged, and be willing to serve and assist them, both on account of the bodily infirmities which attend that part of life, and because it will be their own state if God gives them length of days; and because humanity suggests that we should be cour teous to those who probably will not stay long with us; and because the aged have commonly more knowledge and discretion, and can instruct the young in things of importance. From the aged it is expected, that they be endued with Christian virtues, and set a good example to others, since gg SERMON II. fhey have the advantage of long observation to make them sensible of the folly of vice and the beauty and utility of goodness. Age also tempers and weakens the pas sions, except in those who are enslaved to wicked habits; age also usually brings prudence and judgement : and these things render the old very capable of assisting and directing the young, especially when they can make pro per allowances for the warmth and the defects of youth, and can preserve themselves free from austerity and mo- roseness. Lastly, it becomes them to meditate on death, as on a change which is near at hand, and to be prepared to go hence with decency and resignation. Concerning the duty of kings, the apostles have" said nothing, because at that time there were no Christian rulers. The law of nature, and the laws of their own na. tions, and the law of Moses, and the Gospel, are sufficient to teach them their office, and to show them that the power which their country hath committed to them is a power only to do good, and to restrain evil, and to pro mote the public welfare. But concerning the duty of subjects to their princes, the New Testament is not silent. The apostles recommend, in general expressions, submission and obedience to all who are in authority. St. Paul observes upon this head, that there is no power but from God, and that the powers which be are ordained of God. The meaning is, that civil government is agreeable to the will of God, and ariseth from the nature of things ; for God hath so made man- ler can they subsist without society, nor so ciety without government, nor government without rulers. It is therefore the duty of every private person to be a quiet and a peaceable subject, to do nothing which tends to introduce discord and confusion and the ruin of the state ; but to defend his country on all occasions and with all his power. SERMON II. 27 Lastly, there is a particular duty incumbent upon every person, and arising from his particular occupation, state, office, or profession, namely, that he acquire the skill and the knowledge which shall make him fit for it, fit to act in it prudently and honestly ; else, whatsoever virtues and good qualities he may possess, he is inexcusable both with God and man. Such is our duty to our neighbour, as it may be col lected from reason and revelation. ( 2S ) SERMON III. Titus ii. 11, 12. The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness" and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present ivorld. We are here exhorted by the apostle to live soberly, righteously, and godly. Sobriety comprehends our duty to ourselves, righteousness our duty to our neighbour, and godliness our duty to God. I shall conclude my observations upon the text with examining that part of our "duty which, although it hath some reference both to God and to our neighbour, yet relates more immediately to ourselves. This St. Paul calls, living soberly. The word ^sobriety hath a more extensive signification in' the original than in our language, and comprehends in it a right exercise of our reason and of our natural powers, and a discreet government of our passions. Amongst the helps which God hath bestowed upon us, to lead us to obedience and to happiness, may be reckoned dispositions and propensities, which are called natural inclinations, which we feel more or less as soon as we come to the use of reason, and which, if we do not corrupt and stifle them, will be confirmed and im proved by daily experience, and appear both profitable 8 "Xtuf^oaivij. SERMON 'HI. 29 and commendable. These serve as a counterbalance to those passions which incline us to evil. First of all, then, men are so formed by their Creator that they love truth and hate falsehood. No one chooseth to mistake, to err, arid to be deceived. Every one is willing and desirous to see things as they really are. We may safely take it for granted that there are none so brutish, so savage, and so ignorant, as not to approve truth and blame falsehood in general. Consequently they must acknowledge that it is ugly and wicked to deceive, and that it is good and amiable to instruct. By the same use of reason, men see that it is better in general to do good than to" do hurt to another, and they generally own it, unless some violent passion prevails with them, and stifles the dictates of nature. When the mind grows calm, and capable of exercising its powers- they discover the fitness of such a behaviour, they wish that others would act so towards them, and they endeavour to perform themselves what they thus approve in others. Hence by steps and degrees we are able to acquire right notions of all sorts of virtues and vices. Every vir tuous disposition is advantageous to ourselves and to others, and every vicious habit is hurtful to ourselves and to others. But it must be remembered, that the useful ness arising from virtue is not to be considered as confined to a few actions, or to a few men, or to a short space of time : the whole race of mankind, as far as -we can be connected with them, and the whole duration of our life, and our future state likewise, are to be taken into consi deration. What therefore is useful upon the whole is agreeable to virtue, and that is to be called vicious which hath a contrary effect ; and we say that men would pro mote the general happiness and their own at the same time, if they would observe the rule of doing good to all, and that the opposite behaviour will be pernicious to them. 30 SERMON HI. To observe this rule is to live according to the dictates of unprejudiced reason, or to live -according to nature, and to pursue the end for which they are called into being ; and in acting thus there 'is a decency and a dignity, whence arise self-approbation and satisfaction of mind. Every one, if he will consult his own heart, and speak his thoughts sincerely, must own that virtue is beautiful and honourable, and worthy of love and praise, and that vice is deformed and shameful and detestable. Nothing can silence this opinion, which naturally rises in our minds, except some violent passion depriving us of the free use of reason. Hence we collect and conclude, that almighty God hath implanted in human nature those inclinations which make us love virtue and truth wherever they appear and show themselves to us, and shun vice, error and falsehood, when we know them to be what they are. Hence like wise it follows that the goodness and decency, or the dis honesty and deformity of actions depend not at all upon .the will and the appointment of men, and of human laws, but upon the nature itself and the relation and connexion of things, which is fixed and unchangeable: for as truth and falsehood depend not upon us, so neither do virtue and vice. This unalterable nature of good and evil, of right and wrong, and these judgements concerning it, which our own senses and apprehensions lead us to make, are helps which God hath given us against the power and the temptations of sin. When a man doth ill, he in- ms himself; when he doth well, he ap- jjiuyco mo wwii behaviour. This St. Paul hath in view, when he says concerning the Gentiles ; When the Gen tiles who have not the law, do by nature the things con tained in the law, these having not the law are a law to themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and SERMON III. 31 their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. 1. The first 'duty then which we owe to ourselves, is to cultivate and improve that natural inclination which we have to love truth and virtue : for this is the foundation of all goodness, that we be able to distinguish truth from falsehood, that we esteem it when we have found it, and that we prefer what is right and honest to every thing that is evil and base. Unless we love truth, we shall either never find it, or, if we accidentally meet with it, we shall set no due value upon it. Truth shuns those who despise it, or becomes as useless to them as if it were quite unknown. By the assistance of truth we ar rive to a knowledge of 'virtue, and we are taught to es teem it as we ought : they are united together ; without truth there can be no virtue, and without virtue truth is of small use. There are an innumerable variety of truths, of which those of the greatest use and importance are the know ledge of God, and of religion, and of ourselves, and of eternal life, and of the way to happiness both here and hereafter. The Gospel of Christ is frequently called the truth by the sacred writers ; and above all other things it most deserveth that honourable name and character, be cause it surpasseth all other aids and methods for the dis-. covering of this most valuable knowledge. Christ pro mised to his apostles the Spirit of .truth, who should lead them into all truth, that is, all necessary truths relating to morality and religion. , Christ prays to his Father that he would sanctify them in truth, and says that his word is truth. When he stood before Pilate, he professed that for this end he came into the world that he might bear witness to the truth ; and every one, says he, that is of the truth heareth my voice. For whosoever sincerely loves the truth and diligently seeks it, will acknowledge 32 SERMON lit. and receive the Gospel, when Christ himself and his apo stles teach and confirm it. We are of God, says St. John ; he that knoweth God, heareth us ; he that is not of God, heareth not us ; hereby we know the Spirit of truth, and the Spirit of error. Thus the first duty which we owe to ourselves is to love truth and virtue. The Hebrew language hath no word which exactly an- swers to the word virtue ; therefore this word is scarcely to be found in the writers of the New Testament. In stead of it, they say righteousness, holiness, the fear of God, and the like ; by which expressions the same thing is meant. However, St. Paul in one place uses the word virtue, and recommends the love of virtue and of truth in very strong terms : Finally, brethren, says he, what soever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if- there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned and received, and heard, and seen in me.; do ; and the peace of God shall be with you. From which and the like exhortations, it is manifest that the love of truth and virtue, which the Gospel recommends and requires, is not a bare occupation of the understand ing, a barren speculative inquiry concerning the nature of morality, but a practical knowledge of it dwelling in our hearts, by which when we have found out truth, and know what is virtue, we suit our life and behaviour to ourper- ily profess the truth, and recommend it to uu«Uu, ....v. ohow forth virtue in our manners and con versation, whatsoever inconveniences may press us, and whatsoever dangers may threaten, us for our adherence to them. 2. The Gospel commands us to think modestly of our selves, and to show forth this modesty in our words and • SSRMOtf III. S3 actions, which is called humility by Christian writers, and is founded upon a right knowledge of ourselves. When we are well acquainted with our own defects, and sensi ble how far short we fall of perfect goodness and kriow- ledge, this usually* produces in us dispositions to think and speak lowly of ourselves, and not ambitiously to seek employments for which we are not qualified, recompenses and respects to which we have no claim, and praises and honours which we have done nothing to deserve : this teacheth us to acquiesce in that station wherein the pro vidence of God hath placed us, to be moderate and peace able and honest in our endeavours to advance ourselves to a better condition, and to have the public good and the interests of Christianity more in view than our own private profit. Else if any one thinketh himself to be somewhat when he is nothing, such an one, says St. Paul, deceiveth himself. By this virtue the mind is kept free from pride, insolence, vanity, self-love, and self-conceit. However, it is to be remembered that humility may be carried to an excess, and that by debasing ourselves too much, and giving way^ too tamely to oppression and inso lence, or By a sheepish indolence and ari over diffidence of our abilities, we may wrong both ourselves and our friends and society, to which we mighf have been serviceable. If-'it is our duty to be modest and humble, and quiet and peaceable ; it is likewise our duty to be useful to man kind, and to employ whatever powers and talents God hath committed to us for the public good. By this' virtue we are disposed not to despise our infe riors,' but to value the good qualities of others, and wil lingly to commend them ; in the exercising of which duty it is much better to think too favourably than too hardly of any persbri, and rather to esteem him too much than to detract from him: For although we are by no means to praise Others-'agairist our own conscience, a!nd for those Vol. III. D 34 SERMON III. accomplishments of which they are entirely and mani festly void, yet since they who in some respects are our inferiors, in other respects often equal or surpass us, we have continual occasion to exercise humility and can dour, in giving to every one all the regard and all the respect that he can reasonably desire. This behaviour the apostles require from us : Submit yourselves one to another in the fear of God. All of you, be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God re- sisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Let- nothing be done through strife or vain-glory, but in low liness of mind let each esteem other better than them selves. Look not every man on his own things, that is, on his own profit and interest, but every man also on the things Of others. 3. If we would perform our part in life as becomes ¦reasonable creatures and Christians, it is necessary that we possess in some degree the virtue called prudence, by which all other virtues are regulated and conducted, by which we are restrained from acting rashly and hastily, we weigh the circumstances of things, and then we do what certainly or probably tends to the public good. This behaviour concerns our whole life, and all our words and actions, which, unless they be accompanied with discretion and foresight, may prove pernicious to ourselves and our neighbour* though our intentions were not evil. In the Proverbs of Solomon, and in the book of Ecclesiasticus, there are many useful precepts of this kind ; and our ' " shorted us to join the prudence of the ser- ^.^ ^ „.^. ^.plicity of the dove. Christian prudence is often occupied in forming right judgements of religious truths, duties, actions, and opinions. It preserves us from being imposed upon by deceitful or mistaken men in things relating to faith or practice ; it directs us to ad here to the plain word of God, as it is contained in the SERMON. 111. 35 Scriptures, in all that we are to believe and to do. By the assistance of this virtue we prove all things, and hold fast that vyhich is good, according to the advice of St. Paul ; we believe not every spirit, as St. John admonisheth, but try the spirits, whether they are of God, because many false prophets are come into the world. Else we might fall into numberless errors ; for every age and every na tion usually produceth a plentiful harvest of deceivers, and he who is unsteady and unwary will neyer want a false guide to mislead him. 4. The writers of the New Testament frequently and strictly command us to observe the rules of temperance in our food, and in all lawful pleasures and natural in clinations : by which it is not their* design to deprive us of the conveniences of life, but to make us beware lest by the abuse of things innocent and useful we should render our souls and bodies unfit to perform their several functions, lest we should waste our fortunes, and im poverish ourselves and our dependents, and lest we should corrupt others by bad example. Therefore the Gospel forbids drunkenness, debauchery, extravagance and intemperance, and all such irregularities, and recom mends chastity and sobriety: and these precepts it en joins altogether for our own sakes, for the good of each individual, and of families, and of human society. 5. Men are so made, and such is their condition, that they who indulge themselves in laziness will want many things necessary both for soul and body. Whatsoever state, of life we be in, we cannot live reputably without labour. Therefore wise men in all times have agreed in condemning idleness as pernicious to human nature, and a scandalous abuse of those powers and abilities which God hath conferred upon us. And there is the mere reason to detest it, because sluggish people are not enly destitute of the conveniences of life, and of a mind D2 S<3 SERMON III. capable of enjoying them, but are remarkably prone to every thing that is bad, as experience testifies. When poverty and laziness take possession of a man, lying and cheating and stealing are the usual consequences, together, with every kind of shameless and sordid meanness, dis^ ingenuity and dishonesty. Besides, the human mind is naturally restless, and occupied continually upon some object and design. It is the unavoidable consequence of being awake. Unless therefore the mind be improved by honest meditations, and employed in useful labours, it gives itself up to expensive amusements, to loose imagina tions, to unlawful actions, to keeping bad company and bad hours, or to strolling from one assembly to another, or to drinking or gaming, which are very improperly called diversions and recreations, and only serve to add to the miseries and calamities of life, instead of alleviating or removing them. We have received from God a soul and a body, and we are obliged to take due care of both. The soul is to be exercised in acquiring useful know ledge, without which we shall be blinded by ignorance, and swayed by vice, and fall into many faults which might easily have been avoided. The body is to be oc cupied in such exercises as may strengthen it, and make it capable of performing what the understanding recom mends as proper to be done ; and thus we become able. to accomplish what our own nature requires, what our friends and families and society may justly hope and ex pect from us. These are the dictates of reason, and these dictates are enforced and recommended to us by ;rs. This is a faithful saying, says St. Paul to Titus, and these things I will that thou affirm con-, stantly, that they who have believed in God might be' careful to maintain good works : these things are goodi and profitable unto men. And again ; Let ours also, learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that, SERMON III. )37 they bs not unfruitful. To maintain good works, is translated in the margin, to profess honest trades. Let every Christian be of some calling and occupation, that he may live creditably and usefully to himself and others. This precept belongs, in some sense, to all persons, to kings and nobles as well as to the poorest people, that they may know how to act suitably to their several con ditions. Great revenues and power and honour are given or trusted to men, for no other purpose than to enable them to govern those who are committed to their hands, and to provide for the public welfare : and to perform the offices of such a station with tolerable credit and dig nity, is a charge which requireth industry and applica tion, and many good qualities. As to the bulk of man kind, the case is too clear to want procr. To such be longs the admonition of St. Paul, who having declared concerning himself that he had often wrought with . la bour and travail night and day, that he might not be chargeable to others, recommends to Christians the same behaviour : If any will not work, says he, neither should he eat. There are some who walk disorderly amongst you, working not at all, but are busy bodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our'Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, eating their own bread. 6. There is a virtue extending itself to many parts of our Christian duty, which is called contentedness. It is an even disposition, by which whithout repining and com plaining we bear our condition though it be inconvenient; and it is founded on a firm faith and reliance upon the providence of God, and upon his veracity in performing his promises, as likewise upon a knowledge of our many defects, by which we are sensible that if God were to deal with us in strict justice, according to our deserts, our state might be much worse than it is. Whosoever 38 SERMON III. firmly believes that the course of things in general, and/ every particular event, is guided by the Divine providence with perfect wisdom and goodness, for the good of his creatures, especially of those who serve him, will easily persuade himself that- God hath reasons for which he perr mits some to suffer hardships and to be exercised with adversity. These reasons he will believe to be sufficient, though perhaps he know them not in their full extent 5 nor will he suffer any dishonourable thoughts and hard suspicions concerning God's goodness to harbour in his mind, since God' hath graciously declared that patience under affliction shall receive an ample reward in the world to come, and that those things which seem grievous to be borne, and which human nature would willingly shun, often conduce to the health of the soul, and often preserve us from many faults to which a continuance of prosperity exposeth us. The discourses of our Saviour and of his apostles abound with exhortations to content- ment under a low and inconvenient state, and with great encouragement and favourable promises to those who trust in God, and are satisfied with the portion which he allots to them. And indeed this virtue is of singular use to all who would learn to pass quietly and safely throtfgh this world to a better. He whose desires are moderate, meets with few temptations and few disappointments: but he whose heart is set upon wealth, though he p'os-; sess much, is ever desiring something more, and there fore never at heart's ease ; and if he meet with losses be- niserable, though he still possesses what a person contented with a little would think more than sufficient, and is ready to take unjustifiable methods with a view to retrieve his fortunes. Of such singular advan-r tage is it to desire no more than uncorrupted nature re. quires, and so greatly doth it conduce even to our present happiness. Therefore the Gospel condemns not only, SERMON III. 39 covetousness, which, as St. Paul says, is idolatry, but a greedy desire of external advantages, of high stations, of power and worldly prosperity. A contempt of riches is so often inculcated in the New Testament, that it seems needless to bring proofs of it. Scarcely is there any thing which is more earnestly co veted than wealth, and yet there is not any thing inno cent in itself whence greater evils arise ; and this is the reason why Christ requires of us not to set our hearts upon it ; he required it out of mere kindness and com passion towards men, who know not what is expedient for them. For whether we have received our riches from our ancestors, or acquired them ourselves, so it happens that through our own folly they often do us much more harm than good. They are often attended either with covetousness, or with luxury and a vehement love of pleasure. When they are joined to covetousness, the fear of losses with which such persons are tormented is worse than poverty itself; they labour under appre hensions of evils which may never come, or which hu man prudence cannot prevent ; they are sordid and un charitable, and therefore disliked and despised, and they can hardly refrain from any thing mean and vile when there is a prospect of gain. When riches are joined to luxury, such persons indeed are not slaves to their wealth, but, which is, rather worse, they are slaves to their passions and appetites, to a thousand follies and vices. Not that we are to give away all our possessions, and reduce ourselves to a state of poverty, a state which hath its temptations no less than a state of superfluous abun dance: only we are to remember that these things are in trusted to us, and that we must make a sober and discreet use of them, that use which God, and nature, and society require. - 7. To contentedness should be added modesty, a virtue 40 SERMON III. by which we are taught never to say or do any thing, which becomes not our Christian character, but to avoid all that is rude and indecent, To this virtue relate these exhortations of St. Paul, Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good, tp the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers. Fornication and all uncleanness— let it not once be named amongst you, as becpmeth saints ; neither filthij ness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not con? venient. If these things are not even to be named, much less arp they tp be practised by Christians ; and the apostle is the more earnest in recommending this modesty in words and actions to the first believers, because the Gentiles were notorious offenders in this point. To this modesty is to be joined moderation in our ap parel, and consequently in our furniture, and in all our expenses. Of this St. Peter and St. Paul make some mention, arid observe at the same time that the endow? ments of the mind are the best and fairest ornament. No precise bounds can be fixed to duties of this kind, and a reasonable latitude must be left for compliance with cus tom. The best general rule is to follow the example of those of our own rank and condition who are accounted wise and prudent, and free from yanity and extravagance: and these restrictions cannot be called rigid and severe, since they only forbid a profusion which is attended with numberless evils. T „„.i„ :- .t~~ exercise of all the fore-mentioned virtues 1 consists the duty which is called selfr denial, and which our Saviour requires from his disciples. To deny ourselves is, first to cast off all vicious inclinations and unlawful desires; secondly, to reject and avoid every thing that we find by experience to be a temptation and an incitement to sin ; and thirdly, tp be willing to part SERMON III. 41 with any object, if ever we should be placed in such cir cumstances, that either that object or our religion must be quitted. Such is our duty to ourselves, to which we shall! en deavour to conform, if we love ourselves with a rational affection, and set ^ just value on our better part, on our jmmortal soul, ( 42 ) SERMON IV. Luke vi. 13. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples; and of them he chose twelve, whom he also named apostles. OUR Saviour, when he entered into his ministry, chose for companions and disciples men who seem to have been in the main of an honest, sober, and inoffensive conver sation ; men who if they had not been remarkably good, yet had not been notoriously profane and wicked. He came indeed to call sinners to repentance, and he excluded no sincere penitents from the gracious privileges of his Gospel ; nor did he refuse to eat and drink with them, to direct, to instruct, and to comfort such persons. Yet to have taken very infamous men, though sincerely reformed, for his ministers, his agents, his deputies, and his assistants, might have raised a just prejudice against birn in the minds of the people, and have been no small hinderance to the progress of the Gospel. But amongst all the cavils thrown out by the Pharisees and Scribes at his conduct and doctrine, we find riot that they charged ploying scandalous and vicious apostles. He also chose men who, as they were harmless and well-disposed, were likewise men of mean abilities and low stations, who had neither worldly wisdom, nor elo quence, nor wealth, nor interest, nor friends amongst the great : and for this procedure two reasons may be as signed : first, that the power of God might the more SERMON IV. 43 eminently appear in establishing a pure and holy religion by instruments so mean, and in all appearance so utterly Unqualified for the purpose. This is one reason, and it is expressly mentioned by St. Paul. Another reason was, to avoid giving any just offence to the civil government, and to convince the public that he was influenced by no temporal motives, and had no selfish ends to serve by the assistance of men who were few in number, and who could neither plead for him nor fight for him. St. Paul indeed, who was afterwards called to the mi nistry, seems to have had the advantage of a liberal and learned education beyond the rest of the apostles : but we find that he was afflicted with some bodily infirmities, and some defect in elocution, which he calls a thorn in the flesh, and which he thought would be prejudicial to his office ; and therefore he besought the Lord that they might be removed. But it was revealed to him that the grace of Christ and the spiritual gifts conferred upon him should compensate those defects and imperfections, that he should be a successful preacher of the Gospel, and that the power of God should be made the more con spicuous by his weakness. Our Saviour then first elected twelve disciples, whom he called apostles ; and afterwards he chose and appointed seventy disciples ; and the office both of the twelve and of the seventy was to preach his Gospel, and to prepare the way before him, and to prove their mission by signs juld wonders. Though the establishment of fhe seventy disciples, as teachers, was posterior to that of the twelve apostles, yet their commission expired during the life of Christ, and before the apostleship had received its full strength and perfection. It may be observed that our Lord in the appointment of the twelve apostles, and of the seventy disciples, fol- 44 SERMON IV. lowed an usage to which the Jewish nation in antient times hadbeen accustomed ; for God had distinguished them jnto twelve tribes, each of which once had its head and its leader ; and had given them seventy elders a to direct them. In allusion to this, Christ says to his apostles, Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The Jewish synagogues used, it is said, to send forth some of their principal members to collect alms and tithes, and called them apostles or missionaries. And as these apostles acted in the name of the synagogue, they were invested with its authority. For this reason our Lord, giving a commission to his apostles, says, He that re- ceiveth or rejecteth you, receiveth or rejecteth me. But the name of apostle was not strictly and absolutely appropriated and confined to the twelve disciples, to whom our Lord gave this denomination ; since we find that Titus, Andronicus, Epaphroditus, and others were also some times called apostles; and afterwards each Christian church, city, or nation called those persons apostles, who had first preached and planted the Gospel amongst them. Yet there is a wide difference between these apostles and the twelve. The twelve, whom Christ first honoured with this name and office, were particularly appointed to bear witness to all that they had seen hini do and heard him teach. So that if any man could be found as en lightened as any of the apostles were, and as capable of instructing men, yet we could not give him this denomi- ; in an improper manner, except he had m-w* — w .~.wjred with the privilege of seeing JesusChrist, and of conversing with him, and being appointed by him. This was the case of St. Paul, who was a thirteentji apostle, and who founds his claim to the apostleship upon ? Numb. xi. }6. SERMON IV. 45 these prerogatives. Am I not an apostle ? says he ; and have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord ? The apostles were then immediately chosen and sent by Jesus Christ. Hence it was that, when it became neces sary to substitute one in the place of Judas, the choice was referred to God, and the person appointed by casting lots. But when other pastors and deacons were to be created, the election was made by the suffrages of those whom it concerned. Another character of the apostles is, that they were am bassadors of Christ, and ambassadors of God, acting in the divine name and authority ; a character which, if ap plied to other ministers of the Gospel, must be taken in a lower and more limited sense. Again ; the apostles, after the descent of the holy Spirit, received by inspiration the doctrines which they were to teach, and consequently were infallible in their decisions. But we must not iinagine that, even after Christ had given them the holy Spirit, they were ignorant of nothing. Though Christ had commissioned his apostles to preach to all the world, yet St. Peter stood in need of a heavenly vision, to teach him that he ought to preach to Cornelius and to other Pagans, or Pagan proselytes. The^postles,-. after they had received the holy Ghost, corisultedto- gether with the brethren at Jerusalem, whether the con--' verted Pagans were or were not obliged to observe the: ceremonial law. Their illumination was gradual, and' nothing hindered one of them from knowing more thart* another even in things spiritual. The Spirit, says Christ to them, shall lead you to all truth ; into all such know ledge as is absolutely necessary to enable you to exercise your apostolical office. It is not to be supposed that this instruction in the truth was bestowed upon them in an 46 SERMON IV. instant, but successively and by degrees, as the event it- self and the history of the Acts of the Apostles testify. Nor, again, should we imagine that the holy Ghost gave them spiritual knowledge without their own concurrence to acquire and preserve and increase it, by meditating upon the Scriptures, and using all the means which were naturally in -their power. Nor, again, must we imagine that the holy Spirit made them infallible and faultless in their own private and per sonal conduct. St. Peter fell into a blameable dissimula tion when he separated himself from the Gentile converts, to humour the prejudices of the Jewish Christians ; and St. Paul reprimanded him for it. St. John in the Reve lation attempted to worship the angel who showed him those visions ; and the angel forbad him. But then these and such like defects and errors did not invalidate their doctrine. Their doctrine was sealed and confirmed by the holy Ghost with signs and wonders and miraculous gifts. The inspiration of the writers of the New Testament is perhaps impossible to be accurately fixed by us; but such precision is not at all necessary to establish the truth of Christianity, whatsoever degree of inspiration we fix upon, and though we should extend it no further than to the prophetic parts of the New Testament. They who carry the notion of it very high involve themselves in many difficulties ; and they who 'set it very low will find as many difficulties in reconciling' it with the express pro- y Christ to his apostles. The most probable suppuMuun &eems to be, that the writers of the Gospels and Epistles were so far under the direction of the holy Spirit, as to be secured from any mistakes in the essential and fundamental doctrines of Christianity. Another privilege of the apostles was the use of the SERMON IV. 47. keys of the kingdom of heaven. This power was first promised by Jesus Christ to Peter ; and it means a power to open the kingdom of heaven, or the church of Christ, to such Jews and Gentiles as were qualified to be admitted.' I say unto thee, that thou art Peter ; and upon this rock I will build my church. Here is an allusion to his name. Thy name is Peter which signifies a rock, or a stone : and upon this rock I will build my church ; and I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Suitably to this promise, St. Peter laid the first foun dation of the church amongst the Jews, on the day of Pentecost, and converted three thousand hearers ; and he laid the foundation of the church amongst the Gentiles, by converting Cornelius and his friends and family. In this sense also he had the keys of the kingdom of heaven committed to him, and he opened it by first introducing the Jews and the Gentiles. This privilege of the keys, although it was not peculiar to Peter, but common to all the other apostles with him yet being first declared by his master to belong to him, adds to the dignity of his character, and yet detracts no thing from the power of the other apostles, upon whom also, as upon a rock and a solid foundation, the church was built, as St. Paul assures us. What office soever St. Peter exercised in the church, the other apostles, parti cularly James and John, exercised the same, and con verted those of the circumcision as well as he ; and St. Paul was in a most eminent manner the apostle of the Gentiles, and opened the kingdom of heaven to far more Gentiles than Peter ever did. He had then at least as great a share as the other in this divine gift. The phrase of receiving the keys was well known to the Jews ; for the prophet Isaiah promising to Eliakirn that he should be superintendant of the royal palace, says 4S SERMON iV. tfiat the key of the house of David should be cbirimilfel to him. Moreover, the Jews, it is said, when they made" a man a doctor of the law, used to put into his hands the" key of the closet in the temple, where the sacred books5 were deposited, and also tablets to write upon, to signify that they gave him authority to teach and to explain the7 Scriptures and the law of God to the people. Our Saviour, in like phrase, says of himself, in the Revelation ; I have the keys of death and of the grave. I am he who hath the key of David ; who openeth, and no man shutteth ; and who shutteth, and no man openeth. Another prerogative conferred upon the' apostles was the power of binding and loosing. As the power of the1" keys respected persons fit or unfit to be admitted into the* church ; so the power of binding and loosing related to things more directly than to persons ; and to persons by way of consequence. The expression of binding and loosing was well known to the Jews ; it signified denying and forbidding, or declaring and allowing any act to be lawful or unlawful. This shows that Jesus Christ ap pointed the apostles under himself as a sort of legislators" in the church, or rather as declarers of his will, and ex pounders of the sense of his laws. Thus they forbad the' Gentile converts to be circumcised, or to eat things of fered to idols. On the contrary, they permitted St. Pad to take upon him the vow of a Nazarite, and to purify himself in the temple with some other brethren; which was done to avoid giving scandal and needless offences to the ers. i ne apostles had also a power of remitting or retaining sins. By this power they offered pardori and reconcilia tion to the repenting Jews, though they had stained their hands in the blood of Jesus Christ. When they retained the sins of an offender, they had a power also to deliver him to Satan* for the correction • SERMON IV. 49 of the flesh, and to send sickness and diseases upon him, not as a vindictive punishment, but as a chastisement, to bring him to a better mind. These acts of severity they seem to have seldom exercised ; and they exercised them without committing any error or excess, because the holy Spirit gave them on those occasions a knowledge of the •disposition of men's hearts whom they thus judged and condemned. But now, in these ages, every 'sentence •pronounced for or against a man by the church and its ministers, is conditional, the hearts of men being no longer known by men. V In the apostolical days, then, to deliver a person to Sa tan was not only to put him under ecclesiastical censure, but to put him under the power of an evil spirit, to afflict him with bodily diseases. After the death of the apostles, this latter power ceased. It appears from some passages in the New Testament, where our Saviour forgave the sins of the sick, and or dered them to sin no more, that the divine Providence did sometimes inflict diseases upon offenders. This was a commonly received opinion amongst the Jews ; and God had threatened them in the law and in the prophets, that he would send diseases amongst them, to punish their transgressions. It appears also from an epistle of St. Paul, .that the Corinthian Christians, having been guilty of some irregularities, were chastened by the Lord with distempers, and that many, of them were weak and sickly, and many had been cut off by untimely death. Another prerogative of the apostles was» that they were not only endued with extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, but could communicate some of those gifts to others by the imposition of hands. Herein they surpassed the ancient prophets. This privilege was so .peculiar to the apostles, that Philip, though-a deacon and an evangelist, did not Vol. III. E 50 SERMON IV. .• possess it, and it was necessary to send for Peter and John to communicate it to the baptized Samaritans by laying on of hands. Yet it should be observed that the apostles had not power to exercise their miraculous gifts according to their own private inclinations and wishes, but by a particular impulse of the Spirit; else St. Paul would certainly have- Cured his beloved disciple Timothy, who was in a bad state of health. But instead of that, in his first epistle to him, he prescribes a medicine, which is a very com mon one, and by no means infallible. Another apostolical preeminence was the extraordinary effect of their preaching, which was presignified by the tongues of fire that descended upon them on the day of Pentecost. This efficacy was to be ascribed principally to the assistance of the divine Spirit, who, knowing the capa cities and dispositions of the hearers, directed the apostles to use such proofs and such motives as would have the most influence upon their minds, and also enabled them- to ac company their preaching with suitable signs and wonderk Another apostolical privilege was contained in thesewords,; Go and teach all nations. The commission was confined to no place, but they had a right to preach" wheresoever. they found opportunity, where the holy Spirit led them,- or prudential causes directed them. With a view to spread- the' Gospel more speedily and extensively, they departed some to one province, some to another ; and St. Peter. more particularly preached to the Jews, as St. Paul to Thus the apostleship seems to have been usuany incompatible with the confined superintendency of only one particular church,- or district, and to have been superior to it. The last character of fhe apostles, by which they are discriminated front all other ministers of the Gospel, is, SERMON IV; 51 that they had no successors, Strictly and properly so called, none who entered into all their powers and privileges. Their office began and ended with them. The extraordinary gifts of the holy Spirit seem to have ceased in a great measure soon after the death of the apostles ; at least we cannot trace them further with any certainty and full satisfaction. And thus the church hav ing been founded and established by men divinely com missioned and miraculously supported, and by their com panions and disciples, was afterwards under the conduct and ministry of pastors and teachers of human appoint ment, and hath been so from that time to this. But the pastoral office itself is of divine appointment, and of absolute and perpetual necessity, as it appears both from reason a^d from revelation. It is impossible that religion should be kept up, and religious society subsist, without some to teach, and others to be taught ; some to guide, and others to be guided ; and so, as to the di stinction between clergy and laity, the thing itself, whether th'e name be so or not, is as old as Christianity, and must last as long as Christianity. And now let me offer, by way of inference from the subject, a few general directions to the Christian people, concerning their common duty, as it respects the support and the welfare of religion. 1. They ought to be thankful that Christianity is the established religion of the country, and that they have perpetual opportunity to serve God in public as well as in private. But then their gratitude can be better showed no other way than by making a regular and conscientious use of this most valuable privilege. Charity itself, which hopeth all things, can entertain no favourable hopes of those who totally neglect this important part of worship. There are only three excuses that can be admitted ; sick ness, works of charity, and works of necessity. But in E 2 52 SERMON IV. truth, it is a cold disregard of-all religion, and an'evil heart of unbelief that usually lies at the bottom, and produces: a lazy and scandalous contempt of the public assemblies of Christians, and thinks the time lost that is spent in ho nouring God, and setting a good example. It is to be feared that the time also is lost that is spent in exhorting such persons to behave themselves, like rational creatures and servants of Christ. 2. All men have an inherent right to judge for them. selves in matters of religion. The Gospel is a system founded upon sufficient evidence, and an appeal to the . sense and reason of mankind. In many countries pro fessing Christianity, the people are deprived of this na tural privilege, and a blind submission, with an implicit faith in the church, is required of them. But, thanks to the divine Providence, we are not under this bondage The Scripture is put into our hands as our only sacred and infallible guide j and we are to consider whether the doctrines and duties propounded to us by our teachers, or by any other persons, are consonant to reason, and to the word of God. False teachers there always were, and always will be ; and every Christian ought to be upon his guard against them. But let me add, that the laity should exercise this free dom of judgement with sober consideration and discretion, especially in this country. So that the apostle's caution may be applied to this occasion ; Brethren, ye are called unto liberty ; only use not your liberty for a cloke of ma- d licentiousness. xur in unis nation the regular clergy are usually pre pared for the ministry by a learned education, and have leisure to apply themselves to the studies relating to their spiritual function ; and it may be affirmed without the least deviation from truth, that no nation, hath produced bjtter discourses on religious and moral subjects, and bet- SERMON IV. S3 ter expositions of the Scriptures, than those which our ancestors have left us since the days of the Reformation* Upon the Gospel and upon these models our sermons are usually formed ; so that the laity have the less reason to fear that any thing should be publicly taught them that is contrary to the essentials of Christianity ; and if any thing of that kind were attempted, it would soon be made mat ter of public complaint. Therefore the common people, they especially who are not learned, ought in decency and modesty to suppose that their teachers are usually better skilled than themselves, and should never slight and censure them without the most apparent reason. 3. It is also the duty of the people to be contented with their own publicly appointed pastors, and to adhere to them. This duty is disregarded by persons, who per haps mean well, but are of such a capacity and disposition that reasons can have a small effect upon them. To them selves they must be left. Time and experience may pos sibly cure them ; or fickleness and the love of variety and novelty may bring them back to their forsaken churches. 4. Though the public administration of God's word and sacraments is justly confined by our church to the ministers of the Gospel appointed for that purpose, yet Christians ought to know and to remember, that in a certain sense they are all of them ministers of the Gospel, and stewards of the gifts which God hath bestowed upon' them for mutual edification. Every one whose age, whose religious knowledge, whose abilities, whose rank, whose natural and civil rights, whose power and influence have set him abovesome others, who hath a family, children, ser vants, dependents, should endeavour, as far as he is able, to make them good Christians, as well as useful members of society ; and ought also himself willingly and thank fully to receive any good advice and instruction which may be offered to him by others, This doctrine of the ,54 SERMON IV. brotherly kindness, mutual assistance, and spiritual inter. course which ought to be found amongst Christians, is frequently and manifestly taught us in the New Testament, 5. Lastly ; It is the duty of all Christian people to the utmost of their power to encourage and promote Christian charity, and .all acts of charity, and those especially which tend to the advancement .of piety. Such are, educating the poor and the young, employing the idle, reclaiming the vicious, instructing the ignorant, and converting those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death. Though we have great reason to be humble before God, and not to exalt ourselves above other people, yet we hope it may be said of us that we are not inferior to any nation, with respect to public charities. May we never be weary of thus well-doing, may the same compassionate spirit ever remain among us. and may we consider it as one of the most effectual means to avert God's displeasure, and to secure his protection, and the continuance of our liberties and of our religion ! What the son of Sirach says of individuals, holds true of communities. He says, Shut up alms in thy storehouses, and they shall deliver thee from affliction : they shall fight for thee against thine enemies better than a mighty shield, and a strong spear. ( 55 ) SERMON V. Matt, xxiii. 9. Call no man your father upon the earth; for one is your Father which is in heaven. X HESE words have an appearance of difficulty, arising merely from the manner of expression ; but the difficulty is so small, that commentators are agreed in fixing the sense of the place, which is this : Where it is evident that God teaches and requires one thing, and man another, hearken to God, and not to man. Be not overruled by the authority of natural and earthly fathers, nor pf spi ritual fathers, that is, of pastors and teachers, nor of po litical fathers, that is, of rulers and magistrates. They are all to be obeyed, but with this exception, that they require nothing contrary to the will of God.. In such cases, Call no man father upon earth, says our Lord, for one is your Father who is in heaven ;\and. call no man master, for one is your master, even Christ. The reasons for which our Saviour gave this caution are evident. First, when the Gospel began to be preached, men .who were convinced of its truth, and inclined to receive it, were often in danger of incurring the displeasure of their nearest relations and dearest friends, of father and mother, as also of the rulers in church and state. This our Saviour sets forth in very strong expressions, declaring that his doctrine, through the prejudices and the vices of men, would be the innocent cause and occa- 58 SERMON V. sion of violent contentions and persecutions.' Think not, says he, that I am come to send peac; upon earth ; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I a;, come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daugh ter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law gainst her mother-in-law, and a man's foes shall be th^-y of his own household. He that loveth father cr mother more than me, is not worthy of me ; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. Secondly, the Jews at that time were accustomed to pay a blind and slavish deference to their spiritual fathers, their doctors and wise men, and to prefer their authority even to that of their prophets, and of their own sacred books. This sordid and implicit faith is attended with the worst of consequences, nnd when artful and ambitious and dishonest guides, have such an ascendant over the populace, there> is no absurdity and no villany which the latter may not be induced to practise ; as it signally ap peared in the behaviour of the Jews towards Christ and towards his apostles. Thirdly, our Saviour foresaw that the same corruption would enter into his church, and the same slavish obe dience to the traditions and doctrines of men ; that fathers, and monks, and councils, and synods, and prelates, and popes would at last so engross all power both spiritual and temporal, and abuse it to such an enormous degree, that scarcely the shadow of Christianity would remain in the Christian world. Upon these accounts our Saviour dful to remind his followers that their hea venly ratner was their nearest relation, their truest guide, and their best friend, the only Father whose aumority admitted no bounds, and obedience to whom could not be carried too far. And yet there is a duty and a submission, even in mati ters of religion and in things spiritual, to men, to parents, SERMON V. St to lawful teachers, and to magistrates ; the bounds and measures of which deserve to be stated and considered. Wh.'ft we are required to obey God rather than m;m, and- to call no man father upon earth, it is supposed, thst we are of years of discretion, and of a capacity to distin guish the will of God from the will of man ; and conse quently such precepts extend not to children. The nature of things is the will of God ; and the di vine Providence manifestly intended to permit that chil dren should be placed under the care and government of their own parents, in things spiritual as well as temporal ; whence it follows that irually they will be, and indeed that they ought to be, of the religion of their parents, till they are of years and of capacity sufficient to enable them to choose for themselves. Such is the order and the na tural state and course of things. It is impossible for children to discern which religious sect or system is the best ; and if theirs happens not to be the best, that is no fault of theirs. It is therefore an act of iniquity and oppression for any government, or for any church, or sect, to take away children from their parents .. by force or by fraud, under the plea and pretence that the religion of the parents is faulty. It is depriving the parents of that right over their offspring which divine Providence hath committed to them." Yet this scandalous tyranny hath been too fre quently practised in the Christian world, under the mask of zeal and piety. The Jews, for example, from the destruction of their country, and their dispersion over the world, have fre quently been exposed to this inhuman treatment, as they have been to oppression and persecution of every kind; Their children" have been torn away from them, and1- edu cated in another religion. The same iniquity hath been practised by the Papists, who have persecuted the Pro- 56 SERMON V. testants, and have seduced their children by artifice, "or taken them by violence, and made them converts to the church of Rome. Examples of this may still be found, and will be found, as long as false zeal and false politics shall prevail. The same disingenuous and dishonest methods have been also ever practised by those sectaries, who upon no just grounds have made divisions, and set up new ways of worship. Though they have often been so cramped and curbed by national laws and civil governments that they could not have recourse to violence, yet they have used every artifice to seduce the young, the ignorant an4 the unstable from those who had a right to the care and guidance of them. It is a vain attempt to convince bigots of the iniquity of such methods. They are so far from accounting it a fault, that they think it a pious and meritorious act to save the souls of young persons from everlasting destruc tion by bringing them over to true religion. If false and blind zeal did not extinguish every moral principle and sentiment, they might see that man should not pretend to be wiser than God, nor to break those connexions of parent and child which his providence hath appointed, nor to imagine that young persons can judge for them selves in religious points, at a time when they cannot judge of the smallest temporal concern, nor to do evil that good may come of it, nor to think that a godly end can sanctify ungodly means. pen oppression, shall men presume. to com pel, when God himself compels not ? God only persuades^ and religion is a voluntary and a rational service. Truth scorns artifice, and abhors violence; and these , are the refuge of men, whose religion is either mere worldly po licy, or enthusiastic superstition. Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, SERMON V. 59 do ye so to them ; for this is the law and the prophets. There is no man that hath a religion of his own, and is sincere in the profession of it, who would not think him self cruelly used by one who should decoy his children away from him, or seize upon them by violence, and educate them in other principles. Why then will he practise himself what he detests in another ? He will re ply, Because my opinions are right, and his are wrong ; I am orthodox, and he is a heretic or an infidel, and is training up his young family to damnation. Wretched argument ! which will establish universal and everlasting pe secution, exercised by the majority upon the weaker party, since every one's religion is right in his own eyes. I know of only one exception which can be made to this paternal right of education ; and that is, if the pa rents should be so poor, so lazy, and so profligate, as to take no care at all of their children, but either leave them to starve, or turn them out to beg and to steal. In this case the children seem to become the children of the pub lic, and the civil magistrate acquires a right to take them to himself, and to give them maintenance and instruction in the religion of the country, though it should not be the religion of the parents. Again ; there are persons in the world, who must live and die children, in the moral sense. I mean those, who having very low abilities and a necessity to earn their bread by continual labour, are not at all in a condition to examine the pretensions of different sects, and to prefer one to another upon a judgement properly formed. ' It seems to be the duty of such persons, and the wisest course which they can take, to be of the religion of their own couritry, and to follow the instructions of their own publicly appointed teachers. But are we not exhorted in the Scriptures, to search, to judge,- to examine, and to determine for ourselves, and GO SERMON V. in all matters of religion to obey God rather than man', and, as the text says, to call no man father upon earth ? This is very true ; but then it is no less true that these directions are given to those who are capable of putting them in practice ; and so far as they are of general obli gation, they must relate to such points as are obvious to the young and to the old, to the small and to the great, to the unlearned and to the learned, to the weak and to the. wise, to the ignorant and to the skilful. Now the, question is, What points are these ? They may, I think, be reduced to three : first, to a belief in God, in opposition to atheism; secondly, to the moral virtues, in opposition to vice and debauchery ; and thirdly, in Christian countries, to Christianity, in opposition to infidelity. First then ; To believe in Almighty God, maker and governor of the world, to whom we are accountable for our behaviour, this is a duty which very soon becomes clear and obvious even to a mean capacity ; and nothing can be urged in favour of atheism that should incline us to neglect it. There is this glaring folly and absurdity in atheism, that if it were true doctrine, it would be a most mischievous truth, releasing men from all ties- of con science, and letting them loose upon one another as so many beasts of prey. On the contrary, nothing is risqued, and nothing is lost, by believing in God, and much good is obtained by it both for individuals and for society ; so *h-,t if it «»»re an error, it would be a profitable and a error ; and therefore it cannot be an error. Secondly, As to the moral duties, they are so adapted to human nature, that they enter into the understanding as easily as light into, the eye, and sounds into the ear. Very little skill is requisite to perceive , that lying, and cheating, and. robbing, and bearing false witness, and in gratitude to parents and friends, and drunkenness, and SERMON V. 61 laziness, and adultery, and murder, and such like prac tices are evil ; and that civility, and modesty, and tem perance, and industry, and honesty, and charity, and every other virtue are good, and right, and fit. Indeed no one can be seduced to vice by being attacked with se rious arguments, but. by having temptations thrown in his way ; no one can be debauched by reason, but by.pas- sibn ; and Solomon's direction may be felt even by an ig norant person, or by a child ; My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not ; for they lay wait for their own blood, they lurk privily for their own lives. - Thirdly, as to Christianity, in opposition to infidelity, we may say of it what we said of the points before men tioned, that its truth is evident arid acceptable to every well-disposed mind, and that there are no proper induce ments to forsake it, where it is fairly taught and explained. If the moral virtues are good, the Christian religion must needs be good ; for the sum and substance of it, as to practice, is morality or natural religion. ' There is no virtue which it doth not recommend, and no vice which it doth not-' condemn. Our Saviour and his apostles, so mild and so gentle on other occasions, used the severest expressions concerning those who then rejected the Go spel, and imputed that rejection, of it to their vices, be cause it was confirmed by undeniable signs and wonders and predictions, and because it was in its main and moral part so reasonable and so profitable. These are the three great duties which concern all per sons, who have a capacity to understand them ; and a moderate capacity is sufficient . for that purpose. As to those who are blessed with leisure, with good abilities, and with opportunities for exerting them, they are ob liged to acquaint themselves more accurately with the will of God, to search, to inquire, to prove all things, and to hold fast that which is good. It is a shame, and a 62 SERMON V. folly, and a crime, for persons who are skilled in arts and sciences, in human learning, and in things pertaining to the present life, to be so careless and so ignorant in mat* ters of religion as they are too often found to be. This may suffice concerning the first part of the text, Call no man your father upon earth. I proceed to the second part ;• One is your Father who is in heaven. Amongst the titles and characters given to the Almighty is that of universal Father, which hath been ascribed to him not only by the writers of the Old and New Testa ment, but by the general and ancient consent of all civi lized nations. Christianity indeed hath enabled us to see more distinctly than the Gentiles or the Jews the several accounts on which God is our Father. We are his children5, as we are his creatures, made, preserved and maintained by him ; as we are intellectual creatures, formed in his image ; as by the practice of vir tue and goodness we still more resemble him, and enjoy his particular favour ; as we are Christians, adopted into his heavenly family, renewed by his assistance, acknow ledged as brethren by his only-begotten Son, and designed ' to inherit eternal life. The returns therefore which are due from us, as from children, to our heavenly Father, are these ; absolute obedience and submission, cheerful compliance, imitation, trust and confidence, resignation and contentment, and a love of our fellow creatures. ^hr> «m,-^ Father implies in it dominion and autho- w obedience and subjection from the children". From the extensive nature of paternal right among men", we may judge of the authority which God hath over us, as he is our Father, and of the obedience which as chil dren we must yield to him. Children ought to be en- b Barrow. SERMON V. 63 tirely guided by their parents whilst they are young, and incapable of judging and acting for themselves. When they grow up to manhood, though love and honour re main indispensable duties, the paternal authority is not so great as it was ; but with relation to God, we are ever young and in a state of minority, and the disposition of children is required of us. As God is our Father, a willing compliance and a cheerful obedience are due to him. Fatherly dominion, as it is the most ancient and natural, so it is certainly the most gentle of all governments, and parents are usually more apt to err on the side of indulgence than of severity. God (is a Father to us, in every sense of the word, be stowing upon us more than we could hope or expect, for giving -us our offences, ruling us with lenity, making al lowances for human infirmities, temptations, surprises, mistakes, and errors> for every thing that can claim com passion, and is not deliberate and stubborn. He loves us better than any parent ever loved any child. Thus the Scriptures speak of him, and, condescending to our apprehensions, clothe him with paternal kindness, or weakness, which shall we call it ? represent him loth to correct, and much distressed when he is compelled to it ; and then soon relenting, and appeased, and disarmed by the first tokens of a sincere repentance. The consideration that God is our Father should lead us to imitate and resemble him. It should raise in us a just regard for ourselves, an innocent and an honest pride^ it should inspire noble thoughts, and produce in us ge nerous inclinations, withdraw us from mean, base and un worthy designs and actions, and excite us to undertakings suitable to the dignity of our nature and the nobility of our descent. The relation of father and son supposes some likeness ; and the son who values- and respects his father, will walk 64 SERMON V. in his steps, will be 'ashamed to degenerate, and to in. herit his name and fortunes without his virtues. If ye were Abraham's children, says our Lord to the Jews, ye would do the works of Abraham ; but ye are of your father the devil, because ye perform the lusts of your father. So, if we be the sons of God, we must, as St. Paul exhorts, imitate God, as dear children. The Scripture frequently reminds us of this duty, both in general and in particulars. God is holy and pure ; such ought we to be : As he who hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation, that ye may be the sons of God. God is good; in this we should resemble him i Be ye perfect, as your Father is perfect. God is bounti- ful, gracious, merciful and long-suffering ; thence we should learn to be kind to all, even to our enemies, that we may be the children of our Father who is in heaven. And our own reason will tell us that long depravity of heart and habitual" wickedness must destroy in a great measure this relation between God and us. If sensible objects engross all our thoughts and time, . if our better part be sunk in- brutish pleasures, how can we be the j children of Him who is pure and spiritual ? If we be fierce and contentious, malicious and unrelenting, cruel and j uncharitable, in what sense can we belong to Him who is ! essential love, and overflowing benevolence ? Can he ac knowledge us for his, when sin hath defaced the fair image, and not one token remains by which he can know us? ^deration that God is our Father teacheth us that it is our duty to place our trust and confidence- in him. We call this a duty, and so it is ; yet ought it rather to be considered as our privilege, and a great fa vour it is that we are permitted to cast all our burden and care upon God, to rely on his providence, and to be solicitous about nothing that concerns our sustenance. SERMON V. 65 Children, especially they who have wealthy and kind parents, live altogether free from care concerning their maintenance, void of all doubt and distrust. Such ought to be the state of our minds, since we have a Father so good and great, who, large as his family is, hath wealth enough for all his children, who is void of prejudice and partiality, and to whom we may have recourse upon all occasions. What man is there, who, if his son ask him bread, will give him a stone, or, if he ask fish, will give him a serpent ? If we then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall our heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him 1 Thus our Saviour, with a convincing force of ar gument, excites us to draw near to our Father, not with the abject fear and extorted submission of slaves, nor with the diffident shyness of strangers, nor with the doubts and suspicions of half-reconciled enemies, but with a filial temper, with respectful love, and a modest and humble confidence. To this hope and reliance is to be added contentment and resignation, contentment in a low or inconvenient, and resignation in a suffering state. To our Father and Master it belongs of right to order his own family according to his own discretion, to assign a proper station, and to allot a proper portion to each child : and much better it is for us that he should exer cise this authority, than that we should serve ourselves, and be left to our own childish option. It is impossible that he should willingly or unwillingly hurt us, or detain from us any thing profitable. Lastly, if God be the Father of all beings, they are all in some sort related to us, and so may claim from us a due affection and regard, according to their respective natures, dispositions, capacities, behaviour and deserts. As we are all members of one great family, we are Vol. III. F 66 SERMON V. obliged to universal benevolence. Even the least of God's creatures is not to be oppressed, the lowest brute is not to be misused by us, since even that is the work of God's hands, the subject of his care, and the object of his providence. We are taught by our Saviour, when we pray to God, to say each of us, Our Father, not My Father, to re mind us of our brethren, as well as of our Father ; and he who loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love his Father whom he hath not seen ? Respect ful thoughts are due from us to the holy angels, who are sent forth to minister to us, though unseen, and to do us good offices ; a grateful remembrance is due to those excellent persons departed herice, whose virtues are im mortal, whose example incites to emulation, and with whom we hope to converse hereafter ; benevolence is due to all mankind, especially to those who are of the house- hold of faith. Christians are in a more eminent manner styled, The Brethren, and that charity which in respect to others may be called humanity, with regard to them is called brotherly affection. These are the principal uses arising from the doctrine that One is our Father who is in heaven. ( 67 ) SERMON VI. Exodus xx. 2. lam the, Lord thy God. — Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. J. HE first and the second of the ten commandments contain the following doctrines ; I. That there is only one God : II. That he alone is to be worshipped : III. That idolatry is a breach of these commandments. I. The first thing which the text presents to our ob servation is, that there is only one God ; that is, one su preme and almighty Being, endued with all perfections, by whom all things were made, and are governed, and upon whom their continuance depends ; who in times past manifested himself to our first parents, and to the patriarchs, gave the Law by Moses, instructed the Jews by a succession of prophets, and then1 revealed himself to the world by his only begotten Son, and who in the New Testament is called The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This doctrine, that all things are under the government of one God, is the plain notion which reason suggests to un prejudiced minds. But men, when they had corrupted both their hearts and their understandings, ran into a su perstitious belief of a multitude of gods ruling in different districts. This was the result of vice, folly, slavery and stupidity ; for the manifest connexion of things through F 2 63 SERMON VI. the whole system of nature, the simple and general laws by which they are governed, and the beneficial effects produced by those laws, have ever been sufficient to make it evident that all is under the direction of one power, to which the universe is uniformly subject. The consider able improvements which learned men in later ages have made in the knowledge of nature have set the power and wisdom of God in a still clearer light, and confirmed it by irresistible arguments. But, in fact, this great truth hath always been acknowledged in some measure ; and notwithstanding the prejudices of long-established super- stition, and the menaces of idolatry armed with power, and the great danger and difficulty of stemming the tor- rent, the wisest and the best men in the heathen nations have ever seen and maintained the doctrine of one God and Father of all ; and even though they worshipped gods many and lords many, yet they generally held one God in the true and eminent sense, one Supreme and Indepen dent, and other deities as inferior to him, as his children, his offspring, his agents, and his ministers in various parts of the world. So deeply was the unity of God impressed in the minds of men, and so hard was it to be effaced by tyranny, vice, and ignorance ! II. The second thing contained in the text is, that God alone is to be served and worshipped. To acknowledge him and him only to be God, must be understood to signify every virtuous and religious prin ciple and habit, by which a due regard is showed ^0 God 5n mir tk/vio-hts and affections, in our speech and con- i in the actions of our life. To worship God, as it relates to our thoughts, judge ments, sentiments, and affections, implies a firm belief of his existence, not a speculative faith, but a rational considerate practical persuasion impressed on our minds that he is the author, preserver, governor and director of SERMON VI. 69 the universe. From this belief will arise just and honour able notions of his perfections ; and from a serious consi deration of his perfections will arise a settled veneration, and that habitual reverence, gratitude and sense of duty, which to Him who seeth the heart is the most acceptable part of worship. This worship of the heart implies a fear of his irresistible power, a reverence of his impartial jus tice, a reliance upon his immutable faithfulness and vera city, and a love of his transcendent goodness. Goodness is the proper object of love, and the proper motive to it ; and as, comparatively speaking, there is none good be sides God, who is the author of all good j so in the same sense, there is none besides him, who deserves our love. This love of God is not a blind passion and an enthusiastic fervour ; it is a rational affection of a rational creature towards its Creator, a desire to please him, to perform his will, to imitate his perfections, to secure his approbation, tp possess his favour, and to enjoy his re? wards ; and as those rewards of wejl-doing are of a pure and spiritual nature, there j? nothing mean and mer cenary, as some have weakly imagined, in desiring and seeking them. The best pf men have had these rewards before their eyes ; and even of the Lord Jesus, the author of our salvation, of him it is said that he endured afflic tions and sufferings for the sake pf 'the joy which was set before him. The worship of God implies also a suitable and visible confession of our inward affections. It is our duty not only to have a constant sense of God upon our minds, but to honour him also before men, and industriously to promote the knowledge of him, and of his holy will, and the love of virtue and of truth. We are obliged to make profession of our faith, though it may be detrimental to our present interest, as undoubtedly it will sometimes be, even in peaceful times and in Christian nations. We are obliged to speak reverently of Gojl upon all 70 SERMON VI. occasions, and to worship him in public as in private, and above all to honour him by our moral conduct, witiV out which the rest is formal grimace and grave hypocrisy.- The sacrifice truly acceptable to God is that which St. Paul elegantly styles, The presenting ourselves a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reason able service. Other things indeed there are which must not be left undone, and the worship of God is by no means to be neglected : but the great end and design. of all is the uniform and constant practice of righteousness. '> III. The third thing to be considered is, that idolatry is a breach of this great and fundamental commandment. It will be proper, before we proceed to the several kinds of idolatry, to examine and settle the true notion of ido latry, or false worship, in its largest sense. Idolatry then is the paying religious worship, and di recting acts of devotion to other beings besides God, up on a supposition that they are able to do us good or harm, and tnat they are entitled to such adoration. It is worshipping them, either against the command of God, or without his command or permission. Let us now examine this]idolatry by the light of nature, by the Jewish dispensation, and by the Gospel. By the light of nature we are very certain of two great truths, of our own existence, and of the existence of one Creator, of the God and Father of all. We are also certain that we ought to worship and serve him. By the same light it appears extremely probable that n, and the God and Father of all, there are other beings superior to us, and inferior to God ; and with this notion ancient and generala tradition agrees in a Hesiod says that there are thirty thousand of them : Tpi? yd§ fiopioi elt '-^ B The first threat that God denounced, was not executed strictly, -and, according to. the. letter : In thetlay uiat thou transgressed thqu shalt die. ; SERMON VII. 83 ance and amendment, which, as the history of the Old Testament shows, often reversed a seemingly irreversible sentence. 7- Lastly, God sometimes confirmed his threatenings as well as his promises by an oath ; which showed that the decree was fixed and ratified, and that no human be haviour could change it. To these general remarks one more is to be added, namely, that there are sometimes some divine promises which are providential and prophetical, founded upon the foreknowledge of God, and relating to that order and course of things which he hath decreed; and these are not alterable by any thing that men can do. These remarks will be of use to illustrate and explain the text. I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments : on which words I observe, I. To punish the son for the iniquity of the father, by depriving him of any thing to which he hath a right, and to which the avenger hath no right, be it life, or health, or liberty, or property, or reputation, is of itself an un just thing. I shall not go about to prove what is so ex- . tremely manifest. No man can be made a sinner purejy by the fault of another, any more than he can be made personally righteous by the obedience of another. God by his prophets hath declared that to punish the innocent for, the guih of their ancestors is an unequal way of pro ceeding. Yet many nations have been guilty of it, and most nations, in cases of treason, do something that at first sight looks like it. God expressly forbids it in Deu teronomy, where hq gives this law ; The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children G 2 84 SERMON VII. be put to death for the fathers : every man shall be, put to death for his own sin. . . There were perhaps nations in the time of Moses, which had laws or customs, such as the Persians and Macedo nians b afterwards had, by which, if a man conspired against the king, all his relations were put to. death... In the second book of Kings, it is recorded that Amaziah slew the servants which had slain the king his father ; but the children of the murderers he slew not, according to that which is written in the book of the law of Moses. Yet it is not to be supposed that even the most arbitrary princes and the most barbarous nations, in acting thus, in tended directly and immediately to punish the innocent; but they pretended, doubtless, as an excuse for it, that the security of the -government required such severity, and that it was with a design to punish the offender, and to afflict him the more grievously, that they destroyed his family : for if a private man amongst them had taken such sort of revenge, they would have accounted him a mur derer. In the mildest and the best ordered governments^in b This apper.red so unreasonable to Alexander, that he abolished the custom, though hp. was of an arbitrary and tyrannical disposi tion, which his power and his success contributed to increase. Q. Curtius, viii. 8. *''"¦ In China they punish the parents for the faults of their children, This was also a custom in Pern, says Garcilasso. It is taken from despotic notions. Montesquieu, L'Esprit des Loix, vi. 20. Diodoms' ;nculus says that th • Egyptian kings condemned to tie ntives and criminals, and those at whom they. were or nations, we have no warrant, from the Gospel to call them divine; judge ments and punishments for their own sins, much less jfc| the sjns of their ancestors. This is rather forbidden a#| n the New Testament, as censoriousness and rasnness,wnether we judge thusof others,or whetherothers judge thus of us. True it is that calamities may come immediately from God, and may be punishment,? inflict^ by him ; but 3s herein Providence usually operates silently and secretly, we are not competent judges of it, andYit$ more Proper for us to account temporal evils in general as no certain signs of guilt and of God's displeasure, and SERMON VII. 91 to consider them rather, what doubtless they are intended, to be, namely, means to produce good to the whole, and even good to the sufferers. Indeed it becometh every person in time of adversity and afliiction to judge himself, to acknowledge Iris own faults to God, and to submit decently to any harsh event, as to a law of mortahty, to a trial, to a fatherly correction, and to endeavour to become better for it. As the offences of sinners have a tendency to bring evil upon their posterity* and as God permits it so to be, and it is not to be expected that he will interpose to prevent it, in this sense, as we before observed, God might be said to visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children ; and in this sense he ever continues to do so. Here then is a motive against iniquity, which applies itself to the natural affeGtion which parents have for their children, ?ind an earnest desire to promote their happiness. They are grieved to see them miserable, and they are not pleased to see them wicked, how bad soever they may be them selves ; for so it is that virtue usually has our approbation, even when it hath nqt our affections. If a man be de bauched and intemperate, careless and extravagant, un just and insolent, faithless and perfidious, cruel and ma licious, if he give a loose to his passions, and spoil his Jernper, it is more than probable that his children will suffer for it many waysi and not only in their fortunes* and their bodies, but perhaps in their minds and their dispositions ; for vices, as well as diseases will sometimes run in the blood. A dreadful patrimony this, to leave to one's children, a kind of original sin, or evil propen sity,' which next to bald habits is one of the hardest things t6 conquer 'and correct. As the entailing a curse on our posterity ought to be a powerful discouragement from vice ; so, on the contrary, the advantages which descend to the children of the righte- 92 SERMON VII. eus should be a more forcible incitement to goodness. Visiting the iniquities of the fathers upon the children un. to the t.jird and fourth generation of them that hate me ; and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments. It is here manifestly im- plied that the Almighty is a thousand times more prone to perform acts of beneficence than of severity ; that he is far more disposed to grant the promised blessing, than to inflict the threatened evil. Therefore, though in the calamities which befall the children ef sinners, their suf. ferings ought rather to be ascribed to natural than to preternatural causes; yet in the prosperity of the children of the righteous, the case seems not to be the same, but there is great reason to suppose that not only the course of things, but the secret blessing of the Almighty con- curs. The providence of God acts in a silent and myste rious manner, and may bririg forth good to those whom he loves ten thousand various ways which we perceive not, by an influence which destroys not human liberty, by daily and hourly miracles not visible to mortal eyes. Here then is a double incitement to goodness, that it will benefit our family and posterity, both by its own useful nature, and by the superadded favour of God. A good parent gives his children a good education, and a good example, two things of inestimable value;' and when he dies, he leaves them his reputation, and the credit of being descended from him, which may be of signal c=rvW tn them, and raise them up friends and protectors no more. These and many other advantages his just and prudent conduct procures to those -who are so nearly related to him ; to which, as we have observed, is to be joined the particular favour of God, who, though he mercifully fails of executing the utmost of his threats, is not deficient on the other side, but is always better than his word. ( 93 ) SERMON VIIL Exodus xx. 7. Thou shalt not take the name ofthe Lord thy God in vain : for the Lord will not hold him guiltless thai taneth his name in vain. IN order to explain this law, and to give you right no tions of it, it will be proper to consider, I. What is directly forbidden in the commandment : II. What is forbidden in it by plain consequence : i III. What is the penalty annexed to the breach of it, and upon what accounts this offence is of so heinous a. nature : .IV. What notions the Jews had of this commandment, and how they behaved with relation to it : V. What our Saviour hath taught concerning it, and how far he hath extended it : VI. Whence it comes to pass that the violation of it is a fault so common and prevalent : ,. VII. Lastly, By what methods obedience to this divine law might best be secured. I. We are to consider what is directly forbidden in the eqinmandment ; Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy, God in vain. Lying, in the Scriptures of the Old Testament, is called, vanity ; and to take the name of God in vain, is to call God to witness to an untruth, and to swear falsely by hi& name. The crime then which is forbidden in this commandment, is perjury, or swearing falsely by the 94 SERMON VIII. name of theXord : and this relates chiefly to promises made to God or to man, and solemnly confirmed by an oath; for to swear -falsely against a person, before the civil magistrate, and in bearing testimony; is considered as a distinct crime, and condemned in the ninth com mandment ; Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. The third commandment requires of us, not to swear falsely by the name of the Lord ; and this law pertains, first, to vows made to God himself, and confirmed by an oath. It was a common practice amongst the people of Israel to make vows: their forefathers had done so from ancient times : the Law and the prophets have neither forbidden it, nor commanded it. They permit it : but then they very strictly require the observance of a vow, what incon veniences soever it may draw after it : Thou shalt not for swear thyself; but thou shalt perform thine oaths and thy vows to the Lord. When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it ; for he hath no pleasure infools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldstnot vow, than that thou shouldst vow and not pay. A vow to God, though not accompanied with an oath, is mv/ch the same thing as an oath ; for it is making: a solemn promise to God. The breach of it differs, little from perjury ; and lying to God is a much greater bffenee than lying to men. Tuic ™*"rriandment -relates, secondly, to all promises n, and confirmed by an oath, to all contracts and engagements of this kind either between one nation and another, or between princes and subjects, or between manls SK^a,vMvsiv 0 S-ij ttdrte; oi wfiofeVat hmsttrt itapaXiitsiy. The misfortune is, that when we seek for this precept, we cannot find it. One way to bring Josephus off, is to suppose IxsAsuire only means, he permitted. So Mr. Whiston boldly translates it j but this interpretation cannot be admitted; and the following words^ 8 $ij, &c. confute it. Another thing to be said for Josephus is, that he founded his opi nion on Levit. xxiii. 2. . , " Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. Six days work shall be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convo cation." But though it should be granted that by a holy convocation may be meant an assembly held for the performance of religious acts, yet here is no command to read the Law, or to hear it read. Lastly ; it may be alleged that Moses says, " These words which 1 command thee this day shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them, &c. and talk of them continually, and at all times, &c." Deut. vi. 6. If at all times, certainly and more especially on the Sabbath days, and at the holy convocations. This seems to be a fair inference ; but it amounts not to a positive command. ¦ "> ; -joe SERMON IX. oerning the Sabbath seems to require nothing more than a strict and solemn rest from labour; and. even thus inter preted, it was a wise and merciful law) intended ^partly for the benefit and refreshment of slaves, whose condi tion was in all nations and in all times hard and wretched. But they who consecrated the Sabbath to acts of religion must be allowed to have sanctified it in a more excellent Sense than if they had only abstained from labour. The command of resting on the Sabbath was deljyered in the most strict and positive terms: " Ye shall dojap manner of work. Ye shall kindle no fire d throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath day." But whether this particular prohibition was of perpetual obligation is matter of doubt. Certain it is that no law is, morefre- quently inculcated in the books of Moses than the law.ef the Sabbath, and that no mercy was to be showed, to those who transgressed it, no expiation was appointed. for their crime. 'r Whosoever doth any work on the .Sabbath, he shall surely be put to death." This was often repeated; and the man who gathered sticks on that day was stoned to death by God's own command. The Sabbath was' given to the Jews to keep them from idolatry, atheism, and irreligion, by obliging them fre quently and continually .to celebrate the jcreation-of heaven and earth. " Verily, my Sabbaths, ye shall keep;y for it is a %n between me and you — that ye niay know, thai, 1 am the L^rd.-~-rt is a sign between me and-the children of Israel for, ever ; for in- six daysrthe Lord^ade heaven -^Take. heed lest thou lift up thine eyes unto fteaven, and when thou seest the sun and the mopn, and Phil) agrees with Josephus, saying, 'E£fo;'/xaif r^Jpz; au s_^ si j rccvrov rfils unless work were done on the Sabbath. Therefore it is plain that God never in tended a rigorous rest which should suffer no exceptions at all. • >• 2. There are examples in Scripture of prophets and Kbly persons, who upon extraordinary occasions acted contrary to some ritual laws ; whence the same conclu sion follows. 3. God gave the Jews two sorts of laws. He gave them laws requiring of them actions which were good and right in, themselves antecedently to those laws, and which are of perpetual obligation, as piety, purity, mercy, justice, and the like. These are moral laws. - He gave them laws commanding or forbidding things which appeared indifferent in their own nature, but were intended -without? ^question for- wise and good purposes. Such -were, to offer sacrifices, : to observe a strict rest upon the seventh day, not to plow or sow the seventh year, and the like. These are positive, ritual^ ceremo nial laws. Now though 'both are to be observed, as far as is pos sible, with the utfnost care and. caution, yet in ease they should ever interfere, the latter in reason ought to give 112 SERMON IX,. place, as less, useful, less weighty, and important. So likewise sa^ the prophets, declaring that God will haya mercy and not sacrifice, namely, where both cannot be had, that he prefers morality to rites and ceremonies, where the one or the other must be left undone, 4. In the interpretation of laws commanding or pro hibiting in general terms, things ought not to be strain^ to the utmost rigour, which is often the utmost injustice. Equity should be allowed to take place, and to mitigate, what in particular cases and circumstances becomes un reasonable ; the letter ofthe law. should then yield to the supposed intention of the lawgiver, which was, to require nothing unfit ; and it is to be concluded that in all general injunctions and prohibitions there are tacit exceptions in cases of necessity. And this interposition of equity is al lowable more particularly in ritual and ceremonial laws. Thus a Jew might have reasoned, and it is probable that many of them did reason in this manner ; for it was an opinion more generally received amongst the'm that the law of doing no manner of work admitted exceptions in cases where life was concerned. But, as the manner in which the Sabbath ought to be observed was a frequent dispute between our Lord and the Jews, they accusing him and his disciples of pro faning the Sabbath, and he justifying himself and con futing them from Scripture and reason, it will be proper to consider that controversy.' It may be observed, first, that if the law of resting on h had been broken by our Lord, the jews could not justly object that to. him as a crime. For as no ritual law can be discovered to be a duty till God hath revealed and enjoined it, it is plain that he who made it a few by positive appointment, can dispense with the ob servance of it, or repeal it. Therefore Christ, who showed by undeniable proofs that he was sent from God, SERMON IX. 113 showed that he had a power to suspend the observance of a ritual law. It must also be noted that our Lord, who was born under the Law, and obedient to the Law, observed it reli giously, and fulfilled all righteousness, and never acted contrary to the true intent of it ; and that whilst he was on earth he did not abrogate or dissolve the Sabbath, but only explained and set it in a true light. He spent it constantly in acts of piety and charity, in healing and teaching the people, in doing good to their bodies and to their souls. The objection which was made to him, that by mira culous cures he violated the Sabbath-day, was a senseless and wicked cavil ; for how by reason, or how by revela tion, by what law divine or human, could he be accused of working- On the Sabbath, because he had removed dis eases and infirmities by only speaking a few words ? When a ruler of the synagogue, full of indignation be cause Jesus had healed on the Sabbath^ had said to the people, There are six days in which men ought to work ; in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath-day ; Christ calls him a hypocrite, who had the glory of God in his mouth, and other things in his heart. " On a Sabbath-day, Jesus went through the corn, and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn and to eat.. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold thy disciples do that which it is not lawful to do on the Sabbath-day." To pluck ears of corn on the Sabbath was forbidden by the expounders of the Law. Our Lord excuses it as a case of necessity, laying it down, that, where the preser vation of life or of health was concerned, this ritual law might be set aside. His argument* are these : 1. " Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him ? how he.'dad Vol. III. I 114 SERMON IX. eat the shevv-bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them that were with him, but only for the priests ?" That is ; The shew-bread, according to the Law, was to be eaten by none except the priests. But David, a prophet, in a case of necessity, pressed by hunger, did eat of it, and gave it to those who were with him. If then hunger excuses the breach of one ritual law, it will excuse the breach of another. 2. " Have ye not read in the Law how that on the Sab bath-day the priests profane the Sabbath, and are blame less ?" That is ; The priests occupied in the service of the tern- pie profane the Sabbath constantly, according to the letter of the Law, in preparing and offering up daily sacrifices. But as this is done by divine command, it is not in reality a profanation of the Sabbath. Therefore the prohibition of working that day admits exceptions. If it admits any exceptions, it certainly admits them- in this case. I am a prophet, and am doing the work of God : I and my disciples are employed in things of the utmost consequence, and have no leisure to prepare our selves food against the Sabbath-day. We must therefore act thus to satisfy hunger, or we must render ourselves unfit to prosecute the office to which God hath called us. 3. " I say unto you that in this place is one greater than the temple." That is ; If the priests are blameless in working on the ecause it is done for the service ofthe temple, much more are my disciples excuseable in gathering and eating ears of corn, that they may be able to attend upon the service of a master who is greater than the temple, a divine person, sanctified by the spirit, and in whom the Father dwelleth. 4. " If ye had known what this meaneth, 1 will have SERMON IX. 115 mercy and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless." That is; God hath declared to you by his prophets that ritual laws are of less esteem in his sight than the great duties of morality ; that he will have mercy and not sacrifice, or, rather than sacrifice, when one must be omitted ; that if ever the letter of a ceremonial law is not consistent with a law of morality, it must give place to that which is more important. This general rule, when applied to the case of the Sabbath, teaches that the good of men's souls, or the preservation of their lives, may be promoted by actions which rigorously interpreted might be accounted a breach of rest. 5. " The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." That is ; The Sabbath was a merciful institution, and not a burden. It was plainly intended for the good of man, for the refreshment of his body, and for the im provement of his mind. Whatsoever therefore manifestly conduces to preserve his life, or to increase in him virtue and religion, is not to be deemed a breach of the rest en joined on that day. ' 6. " The son of man is lord ofthe Sabbath" That is ; Since the Sabbath is made for the sake of man, and not man for the sake of the Sabbath, Christh, who comes to do good, may perform any action on that day which promotes the glory of God and the benefit of mankind. To these arguments of our Lord we may add those which he used upon the like occasions at other times. He reasons thus : — If you upon the Sabbath-day loose an ox or an ass from h The ' son of man ' seems here rather to mean Christ, than man in general. See Grotius, Le Clerc, Hammond, and Whitby, on Matt. xii. 8. 12 116 SERMON IX. his stall, and lead him to water, or draw him out of a pit, much more may I on that day cure the sick and the1 infirm. It appears from these arguments, and from some Jewish authors, that, according to the general opinion, the law of not working on the seventh day might be set aside in cases where life was concerned, and not only the life of a man, but even of a beast. If the life or the health of a beast may be preserved on that day, surely the health of a man. And if the life of a man may be saved with- out danger of violating the law, by the same equitable construction whatsoever tends to remove pain and sick ness, and to make his life easy to him, may be lawfully done. This reasoning was plain, convincing, and unan swerable. * Again : If you break the rest of the Sabbath-day by circumcising your children, in obedience to a ritual pre cept, you ought not to blame me for restoring a mise rable man to health on that day. Again, " My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." That is ; You have a wrong notion of the Sabbatic law. You read that God rested on the seventh day. He rests indeed from his work ofthe visible creation ; but in the government or preservation of the things which he hath made, he worketh hitherto, and will ever work, doing good to his creatures at all times. In these in stances, and in imitation of him, I also work continually, doing acts of mercy on the Sabbath-day as well as on the Sabbath healed an impotent man, and commanded him to take up his bed and walk. The man did as he was ordered, for which he was accused of break ing the Sabbath. That a man should carry his bed on the Sabbath was undoubtedly contrary to the letter of the Law : but then it SERMON IX. ' 117 is to be. considered, first, that this action was not done in contempt of the Law, or for any worldly ends, but was a public testimony of a signal miracle of mercy, inciting men to praise and glorify God, and tending rather to sanctify than to profane the day. Observe also, that Christ, by virtue' of his divine mis sion and ofthe miracles which he wrought, had a power of suspending or of setting aside any ceremonial law, and that he did no more than many prophets and holy men, inferior to him in all respects, had done before him. He had the examples of Joshua, David, Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha, and the decisions of the Jewish doctors, to justify him, and to show that the literal sense ofthe Law might be mitigated, when the reason was apparent and pressing. ' There is, for example, a law delivered in general terms, and without exception : " Three times in a year all thy males shall appear be fore the Lord in the place which he shall chooseV Yet was this law interpreted by th'e Jews according to reason and equity ; for, first, they did not carry their 5 See Discourse i. concerning the Truth of the Christ. Rel. and Spencer, i. p. 26. k Grotius on Luke ii. 42. and Le Clerc on Exod. xxiii. " It may be questioned whether all males without respect were to appear ; for it is not likely that young children should, or decrepit old men could appear. I answer, therefore, that it is to be understood of all males who were within the age and years of service, namely, between twenty and fifty : for at fifty it. is apparent that all were emeriti. Even the priests and Levites served not after that age. But at what years they became capable of service, there is difference. The priests might not serve in the priest's office afore thirty. Numb, viii 24. . But the laity were capable of employment, and serviceable at twenty ; as ap- peareth Numb.' i. '2', 3. where God commands Moses to take the sum of all the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upwards, all that are able to go forth to war ; so implying that from twenty years of age they wereable for that service," J. Mede, disc, xlvii. p. 26] . Grotius on, Luke ii. 41. offers another interpretation of this law, which seems probable ; namely, that the males were obliged every year, by turns or courses, on some of the three festivals ; so that if ffthlrd part of tlje inhabitants went at a time, it was sufficient. ng SERMON IX. children there before they were twelve years old, at which time Christ went up with his parents to Jerusalem ; and, secondly, they thought that those persons only were ob liged to observe this precept who dwelt in Judaea, and that the Jews who were out of their own borders were ex- cused. Another passage remains concerning our subject, which deserves consideration. Christ, foretelling the destruction of Jerusalem, says to his hearers ; " Pray that your flight be not in the winter, nor on the Sabbath-day." Here observe, first, that in the opinion of the Jews, to take journeys on the Sabbath was a breach of the Law, Yet the greater part of them was not so rigorous as to for bid all walking on that day, but allowed a moderate di stance, which was called a Sabbath-day's journey, and was about a mile : Secondly, That the unbelieving Jews were rather more superstitious in their observance of the Sabbath after Christ's resurrection than they were before ; and thatj possibly, out of hatred and opposition to him : Thirdly, That the Jews converted to the Gospel were strict observers of the whole Law, and did not think them selves released from any part of it by Jesus Christ, but kept it zealously until the destruction of Jerusalem, and much longer. Now, say some interpreters, our Lord, knowing that even his followers would be strict observers of the Law, ray that the day when they would find it ne- t,cat>aiy iur Lhe preservation of their lives to fly from Jeru salem might not be a Sabbath, on which they would not dare to fly, for fear of breaking the commandment. But since from the doctrine of Christ concerning the Sabbath it follows plainly that a Jew might, or rather that he ought, to fly on that day to save his life, I should SERMON IX. 119 prefer another interpretation which is given to these words, thus ; Fray that your flight be not in the winter, when long journeys are most difficult ; nor on the Sab bath, lest you be exposed to the indignation of the un converted Jews, as profaning that day in their opinion. From the things which have been said, we may learn that the contest between our Lord and the Jews was not whether the Sabbath should be kept, holy and spent in the service of God ; for that duty he exactly observed. His disciples also did not imagine themselves released from keeping the Sabbath, or even from resting strictly on it, when they had no 'work of necessity or charity to hinder them. They did not, I say, think themselves released from this law, at the time of his death, by any thing that he had said upon the subject. The women who had at tended him to his grave prepared spices and ointments, and rested the Sabbath-day according to the command ment1. The dispute then between Christ and the Jews was, whether it were lawful to do works of mercy and necessity on that day ; which they denied, and he affirmed and proved. It is worthy of observation that our Lord explains ri tual and moral laws in a very different manner ; in the former allowing a favourable latitude, in the latter re quiring great exactness. What he taught concerning the Sabbath amounts to this : Ye have heard it said, Thou shalt do no manner of work on the seventh day : but I say unto you, that this pro hibition was not intended to be so rigorous as to admit no exception, and that what is necessary for the preserva tion of life and health, what justice and mercy and charity require, is not to be deemed a breach of that law. But when he explains moral laws, it is thus; Ye have 1 Grotius on, Luke xxiii. 56. 120 SERMON IX. heard that it was said, Thou shalt not kill : but I say unto you, Ye shall not be angry without a cause. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt not for swear thyself : but I say unto you, that in your conversa tion ye shall not swear at all. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour : but I say unto you, that by the word ' neighbour' is to be under- Stood every man, even a stranger, even an enemy. ( ^1 ) SERMON X. Exodu xx. 8 Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. J.N a former discourse I endeavoured to explain the nz- ture of the Sabbath, and our Saviour's doctrine concern ing it in his disputes with the Jews. It remains to show how far the law of the Sabbath con cerns Christians. The law of the Sabbath is of a mixed nature, partly ritual, and partly moral. The moral part is, that every one ought to set aside a portion of their time to perform acts of piety and devotion, as prayer, thanksgiving, and the like, and to meet together for that purpose. The ritual part is, that every seventh day shall be that portion of time, and that a strict rest shall be observed on that day. That part therefore which is moral, namely, a solemn worship of God at stated times, is an everlasting law. The same will appear, if we examine the ends for which the Sabbath was instituted. It was instituted in general for the preservation and pro motion of religion ; and some such law, divine or hu man, is necessary for that end. For we cannot perform a reasonable service to God without some knowledge of his nature and of his will ; nor is this knowledge to be acquired without instruction and serious meditation, nor Jo be kept up without stated times for public worship. It was instituted to preserve men from idolatry, irreligion,. 122 SERMON X. scepticism, and atheism. That they might not worship the host of heaven, or a multitude of gods, or that they might not imagine that the world was without beginning. and of itself, or made by chance or by necessity, the Sab bath was given as a memorial of the creation, and a day for the worship of one God, maker of heaven and earth ; and on this account likewise it is of perpetual use. It was given to the Jews for a commemoration of their deliverance from ^Egyptian bondage, during which they had been obliged to unreasonable labour, and therefore they were ordered to abstain that day from all manner of work. This is peculiar to them only ; as is also the com- mand that their slaves and cattle should enjoy the like rest. But these commands are partly ceremonial and partly moral : ceremonial, as they were a commemora. tion of redemption from bondage; and moral, as they teach' men to lay aside worldly affairs on the portion of time set apart for religious duties, and as they require from them humanity and mercy towards their servants, and even towards their beasts. The reasonableness of obeying the moral part of this law appears also from the consequences of the observation and of the neglect of it amongst the Jews. If we inquire how it came to pass that the Jews before the Babylonian captivity were so prone to idolatry, and so averse from it afterwards, we shall find this to be no improbable reason, which a writer a of our own hath sug gested : Before the captivity they had fewb, if any syna- Connect. p. i. b. vi. _ ¦¦ nowever, it seems probable that the Israelites of old had, be sides the tabernacle, some few proseuchcc, places to pray or wofship in ; as also that they resorted on the Sabbath-days to the prophets for religious instruction. See Psalm lxxiv. 8. Prideaux, p.i. b. vi. Mede, b. i. disc, xviii, Vitnnga, de Synag. Vet. 1. i. p. ii. c. 6. et in lsai. xxii. 18. Mede, letter lxvi. Le Clerc on 2 Kings xxi. 11. and in Bibl. Cho'is. xvi. 142, hath as- SERMON X. 123 gogues for public worship and public instruction ; for want of which they grew ignorant, and were easily se duced into the superstitious and idolatrous practices of the neighbouring nations. But after their return from the captivity, synagogues were erected in every city, to which they constantly resorted on the Sabbath-days for public worship, and where they had the Scriptures read and ex pounded to them. By this method they acquired and re tained a knowledge of religion ; and by the same method Christianity hath been established and preserved ; and without question, if it were laid aside, the people would be as ignorant and as barbarous as were their ancestors before the preaching of the Gospel. ' There is then too much reason to suspect that they who totally disregard this duty have neither just notions of the Gospel, nor a heart inclined to obey it, and that a practical knowledge of Christian morality dwells no more with them than in the dens of savages. It appears from some passages in the New Testament, and from other ancient writings, that the disciples and the converts agreed to set apart for public worship the first day of the weeke, the day of Christ's resurrection, which was also the day on which he sent down the Holy Ghost upon his apostles. By setting aside the Lord's day for the solemn worship of God, they observed all that was moral in the fourth commandment, namely, a stated time for religious exer cises ; and they thought it proper to retain the same por tion of time, one day in seven. That from thenceforth the obligation to observe the Jewish Sabbath entirely ceased is plain from the whole tenour of the New Testament : signed some causes for the frequent idolatry of the Jews, which de serve to be considered. e Spencer, vol. i. p. Q4. 124 SERMON X. For, first, we are taught by St. Paul that all ritual ce remonial laws, given to the Jews by positive appoint ment, were of no longer force after the promulgation of the Gospel. Secondly, We find that contentions soon arose in the Christian churches, occasioned by some Jewish converts, who, not contented with zealously observing the law of Moses themselves, would compel the Gentile believers to do the same. This controversy was not about the moral law, the love of God, and of our neighbour, and the like duties ; it was only concerning the ritual law. The apostles meeting together on this occasion decided that the Gentiles were free from the Law, and needed only to abs- tain from meats offered to idols, from things strangled, from blood, and from fornication. And since they made no mention of the Sabbath, it must be supposed to be comprehended amongst the rest of the ritual laws which the Gentiles were not bound to observe. All the converted Jews indeed, the apostles perhaps excepted, thought themselves not only permitted, but ob liged to keep the whole Law, that is, as far as they could, as far as it was then practicable : nor did the apostles in terpose;, but suffered them to follow their own judgement. Thirdly, St. Paul warns the Colossians not to be se. duced by those Christians who would compel them to be circumcised, and to keep the Law. He tells them that- they had already received the spiritual circumcision in baptism, and wanted no other rites to make them com- ans ; that when they were dead in their sins Kioa nad quickened them by his spirit, having forgiven them their trespasses upon their faith arid repentance; that Christ had blotted out the hand- writing of ordinances which was against them and contrary to them, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. By the hand- writing of ordinances which was against SERMON X. 125 them, he means the ceremonial law, which separated the Gentiles from the Jews, as an unholy people. Then the apostle says ; Let no man therefore judge you in meat or in drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moons, or of the Sabbath-days, which are a shadow of things to come ; but the body is of Christ. From which words we learn, that a Christian was not to be censured if he observed no distinction in meat and drink, no new moons, Jewish feasts, Sabbaths, and the like: That these were ceremonial ordinances against us, and contrary to us, which Christ abolished : That these were mere shadows, of which Christ is the body ; that is, that either they were emblems and images of good things to come, exhibited by Christ ; or else that they were as unsubstantial as shadows, compared to the solid and important truths which Christ had discovered, and consequently became useless under the Christian dis pensation. This suggests to us another < end which the Jews dis covered in the institution of the Sabbath. They were of opinion that it was intended as a type and a symbol of a perpetual Sabbath or rest to be enjoyed by the good in the world to come. Many of the Jews used to account several things in their Law, as also the promises of tem poral blessings, to be capable of a higher sense, and em blems of the rewards which the righteous should receive in the next life. It may be supposed that they were led into this way of expounding Scripture from observing, first, that God, whose goodness is supreme, would be stow better things upon his servants than those which usually fall to their share in this disorderly state ; and, se condly, that the difference between the condition of the righteous and the wicked was not such as might have been expected from the letter of the Law. These accounted the Sabbath, or day of rest, as designed to be an image 126 SERMON X. ofthe future rest ofthe righteous from all their labours. To this opinion the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews alludes in the fourth chapter, though his expressions be somewhat obscure. The meaning of them seems to be this ; God made a conditional promise, says he, to the Israelites, that they should enter'into his rest ; and upon their disobedience declared that none of that generation should enter into his rest. What is the meaning of the words his rest, or the rest of God? We read that God rested the seventh day from his works, and instituted the Sabbath for a day of rest. Such a rest it was that God promised to them, that, as he rested from his work on the seventh day, and as they also rested upon that day, so they should enjoy a continual rest in the land of Canaan from the labours which they had undergone in Jigypt and in the wilderness. But this rest, such as it was in the land of Canaan, a rest often disturbed and interrupted by wars and by other grievous calamities, could scarcely be reckoned a completion -of God's promise to the good, that they should enter into his rest. It was a type of an other and a better rest, of an everlasting Sabbath in heaven, where the righteous should be delivered from all the evils of life. This, says he, is the rest which God promised to the obedient Israelites by the mouth of David, long after they had obtained rest in the holy land. This is the rest which we Christians hope to enjoy, and should endeavour to secure. Since, then, the Jewish Sabbath is abolished with the ri- ind since in its stead the Lord's-day was ob served by the ancient Christians, we may conclude that by keeping holy the Lord's-day we pay a due obedience to the moral and spiritual part of the fourth command ment. How we ought to observe this day, we may best learn from the ancient Jews, and from the first Christians. The Jews, besides the temple at Jerusalem, had many SERMON X. 127 synagogues, where they constantly assembled on the Sab bath-days, to worship God, and where they heard the Law and the Prophets read and explained. The Chris tians, as a very ancient writer d tells us, met together every Sunday, at which time portions of Scripture, says he, from the Old and New Testament were read, and discourses were made, to exhort them to piety ; then they joined in prayer, then they partook of the holy communion, and, lastly, they made collections for the poor. The first Christians were so persuaded that this was an indispensable duty, that they observed it, not only in peaceable times, when they were permitted to make open profession of their faith, but in times of persecution, and at the hazard of their lives. The cruelty of princes and magistrates could not make them neglect it ; for we find by their writings that they used to come together before break of day, and in small companies, and in different places, when they could not meet openly and in great numbers e. Thus was the Lord's-day kept by the first believers, whose example in this, as in some other things, is worthy of our respect and imitation. There was a time when most of the serious persons in this nation entertained notions concerning the Lord's-day rather too rigorous and precise f, and leaning too much to d Justin Martyr. ' They used, stato die ante lucem convenire, says Pliny, epist. x. Off , Their meetings were rather coetus antelucani than ccettis nocturni, and therefore by equitable construction did not violate the Roman law-s against nocturnal assemblies. Nor indeed was it possible for poor la bouring people to set up whole nights at their religious assemblies, and to follow their several occupations in the day-time. f The Christians were not so strict in the time of the emperor Con- stantine. Omnes judices, urbanaeque plebes, et cunctarum artium officia, venerabili die Solis quiescant. Run tamen positi agrorum culturas li- bere licenterque inserviant : quoniam frequenter evenit, ut non aptius alio die frumenta sulcis, aut vineae scrobibus mandenturj ne occa- 128 SERMON X, aJudaical and ceremonial strictness. But many are now disposed to the other and the worse extreme, of neglect ing that day, of spending the whole or a great part of it in worldly affairs, or of distinguishing it from other days only so far as to make it a day of idleness or of diversioni That they who have given themselves up to vice and profaneness should shun the assemblies of Christians, is no wonder. Their behaviour in this, bad as it is, at least is consistent with the rest of their actions ; and it is na tural for those who hate their duty to avoid the places of public worship where they must hear disagreeable truths. But they who retain some regard to virtue and religion, and yet take little or no notice of a clay set apart for their improvement in virtue and religion, are without excuse. If they will be judged by the practice of God's people under the Law, or of the apostles- and first Christians, they must stand condemned ; or if they had rather appeal to the dictates of reason, there also they will find nothing to favour them. ¦ For if it be true that God sent his Son to give us laws, by which we should regulate our lives, and by which we shall be judged, it is equally true that we ought not to omit any opportunities of frequenting those assemblies where the divine precepts are taught by those who are ap pointed to that office, that so we may be instructed in those things on which our eternal happiness depends. "sione momenti pereat commoditas ccelesti provisione cbncessa. Cod. 1. iii. tit vii H. this law with Virgil, Georg. i. 2(58. w.urppe etiam festis quasdam exercere diebus . - Fas et jura sinunt. ; rivos deducere nulla Relligio vetuit, segeti przetendere sepem, "Insidias avibus moliri, incendere .vepres, Balantumquegregemfluviomersare sakibri. '¦ ,• ¦ -, The emperor Leo repealed this.Jaw, and, published one more strict. _Scaevola consultus quid feriis agere liceret, resp'ondit, quod Orriissum 'noceret. Macrobius;'1 sat/i. H}.- -.- .:¦:"'¦•- •¦--¦ > -- • < v4 ' SERMON X, 129 This argument will reach the greater part of Christians* who stand in need of such instruction, that they may ac* quire right notions of morality and of Christianity, and a due sense of their importance. Our duty is indeed easy to be known, so far easy that it requires neither much learning, nor hard study, nor great abilities. A tolerable understanding and an honest mind will suffice to attain all necessary knowledge : but some diligence arid applica-> tion is needful, and an use ofthe means which are afforded to us; we must worship God in private and in public* and read the Scriptures, and hear them explained. If it be true that we are weak and frail creatures, dis* posed to be led astray by temptations, to be taken up with the things of this world, and to forget what relates to the next, sometimes persisting in a behaviour which we can not approve, and sometimes treacherously deluding our* selves, it is equally true that we want to be reminded of those things from which we turn away our thoughts, to be excited to those duties which we know better than we practise, and1 to be continually exhorted, lest we be hard ened through the deceitfulness of sin. Upon this ac count religious assemblies are absolutely necessary, where are set before us the obligations to live righteously, and the advantages of such a life, the pernicious nature and fatal consequences of sin, truths which the wisest and the best person in the world wants frequently to hear, plain and obvious as they are, and truths which every person ought to hear with attention and respect, how imperfect soever be our discourses upon them. Such is the dignity ofthe subject, that we must sink beneath it ; but such is its use fulness and importance, that it is scarcely possible to treat it seriously, without saying something that must have 3. good effect upon a well-disposed mind. If it be true that our meeting together at stated times for the solemn worship of God hath a plain tendency to Vol. III. K 130 SERMON X. make us live in the fear of God, to make us usefulvin eur several stations, it follows that this is a duty to which we are bound, even for the sake of others. If one were so well skilled in his duty, that he could hear nothing concerning it which he did not know be fore, and so perfect in the practice of it, as to stand in need of no exhortation, still it would be his duty to fre- quent these assemblies of Christians, that he might set a good example to his brethren, and encourage religion to the "utmost of his power. If it he true, as Solomon observes, that righteousness exalteth a nation, that virtue tends to make societies flourishing and powerful, here also is another reason for public worship, drawn from the public interest. Lastly, There is no duty more frequently inculcated in the Gospel than benevolence, brotherly lovej and charity. Upon this our Lord insists with a particular earnestness ; by this, he says, it should be known, who are his disciples ; thereby disowning all those who will not comply with it. Now there is nothing which seems more proper to promote and preserve union and friend ship amongst Christians than the public worship of God. We find in the histories of Greece and Rome that law givers and founders of governments6, projecting to unite e Lycurgus, Romulus, Tarquinius Superbus. See Dionys. Halic, Ant." Rom. ii. p. 93. iv. p. 250. — -ha.jrwepxov' £'f ™v ditoSeiyPevra. rfarov, ifa.vi)yvplgu) Every national church hath a power to set apart days for religious purposes either of humiliation, or of thanksgiving. But this should be dorie sparingly and discreetly ; 'else the church may expect to fina her children refractory, and like- those mentioned in the Gqspel,eof whom it is said; We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced 5 we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. ( 134 ) SERMON XL EXODUS XX. 12. r, ¦ i B&nour 'thy father and thy mother; thai thy day s^Ung - '¦ upon the land whidhthe Lord thy God giveihtK^e. M.Y subject and my text fall under two heads, and " point out, I. The duty of children to their parents, to whkh may be added th£ duty of parents to their children. II. The Reward which God hath graciously annexed>fi* the observation of this law, namely, length off days ati4 temporal prosperity. -¦-; ¦* -¦!* ,r. " - '7r ¦ ¦'¦¦'¦* Honour thy father and thy mother, that 'ttoy days? rttSf be long upon the land which the Lord thy God>giveth theet I. Almighty' God thought it proper not only to irtser* this amongst his tert commandments, but to insert" it with particular and distinguishing marks of its high importance, and as a precept to which he required a singular regard? ' , The ten commandments may be and were probably divided into two parts ; and they were written upon two tables. The first contains our duty to God ; the second comprehends our duty to man. ^ i,, . ,».«.- properly relaterb God, and there fore have the precedence, this commandment stands at the head of the eeeond table, as- the1 most important. The first commandment of the first table requires us t&honoji* our heavenly Father : the first commandment of the se cond table requires us to honour our earthly parents, as a kind of terrestrial gods, appointed of God to bring us *nto the world, and to preside over us for our good. In SERMON XI. 135 this view the wke Romans seem to have considered pa rents; an obedient regard both to the Deity and to pa rents is in their language called piety ; the same wbrd 6erves for both these duties. But it is not only the first and leading commandment of the second table ; it is, as St. Paul observes, the first commandment to which God hath graciously annexed a recompense. '4 Children," says he, "obey your parents, in the Lord : for this is right. Honour thy father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise^ that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Here is an obvious difficulty in St. Paul's observation. The fifth commandment, says he, is the first with pror mise ; and yet -in the second commandment there is some- *rhat of a promise ; " showing mercy unto a thousand ge nerations of them that love me and keep my command^ dents.-"- But we may consider this as only a promise at large, rather national than personal, rather general thafl f articular. , It is a declaration that the people of Israel, as1 a rfcu^On-, should not fail to continue happy and flou rishing, if they continued to serve God, and him alone'. " Visaing the iniquities of the* fathers, that is, df ido latrous fathers, upon the children tcr the thirtfahd fourth gerieratiM, and showing mercy to- thousands of them that love me, and keep my .commandments." The precept of- honouring parents is a precept whicfi directly requires a duty ; the others seetn to be rather of the negative kind, and forbid certain crimes; Thoii shalt not do this, or that : and it is a remark of the Jewish writers that when God forbids, he threatens a punishment; when he requires, he promises a reward. The duty here enjoined is the honouring of parents, and by it is principally required that children should entertaiit ft sincere love and respeet, 2nd cherish a natural affection fs6 SERMON^ XL; towards them; for this is the principle and the spring whence a suitable behaviour will certainly proceed. ¦ : Children are required to honour their parents, to h$ respectful in their behaviour to them, to assist them* to obey their commands, and to follow their direct)ons;ifl. all things that are reasonable and contrary to no known dutyj and in points which seem doubtful, to prefer 'the judge* irieht of their parents to their own, to comfort them in afflictions; and to bear with their infirmities.. In the duty pf honouring parents is also included the duty of support ing and maintaining them if they are in distress, and un able to help themselves, which children are bound to per form to the utmost of their abilities. The duty of submitting to the will of parents is a duty which relates chiefly to a st§te of minority. When chii. dren are of age, the laws of nature and of nations allow them more liberty of judging and of acting; and revealed religion says nothing against it : but honour and respecl are duties which ever continue in force. That children should thus honour their; parents, is a dictate of affection, of gratitude, of nature, of reason, and of common sense ; and it is one of the laws which have been generally received by mankind for plain and important causes. If any society, any people have sufT fered it to be commonly violated by contrary custom, and have connived at such abominable practice (and some such people we read of), we must not seek them in civilized regions, but in the clans of rude savages* and amongst the most brutish, barbarous, and profligate of human race, or else amongst nations degenerated and corrupted to the; utmost degree. The paternal power8, as it is the most antient form, of * Senatoria potestas ftori liberat filium potestate patris sui. Digest -v. fit. i, ts.>> ,: -.'—.; - ;--¦ ¦'• • • ¦ -- . the power of life and death was jtaken from, fathers by Adrian, SERMON XI. 13»7 $vit government, so in anfient'times it was very great \ as it appears from the old Roman laws, and in the laws and customs of some other people : it was even a power of life and death. The only reason that could be offered in favour of such high privilege was, that, fathers might well be trusted on account of that tenderness which they must have had for their offspring. But arbitrary power is a dangerous thing ; and as there are too often unduti- ful children, there are sometimes unnatural parents. The law of Moses very wisely limited this excessive power ; for it is by no means fit that every master of a family should have a power of life and death over his wife* his children, and his domestics, though in different times and places such power hath been allowed to them. It- encroaches too much upon the rights of society and the authority of the magistrate, and it turns civil government into a multitude of little, disjointed, independent, tyrant nical monarchies. But by the law of Moses, if the chil dren proved wicked and undutiful, the parents were to complain of them to the magistrates, and if the complaint- c appeared just, they were to be put to death. The me- g thod prescribed stands thus in Deuteronomy : " If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, who will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and who, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them; then shall his father and his q mother lay hold upon him, and bring him, to the elders; of his city, and unto the gate of his place ; and they shall sayuhto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice ; he is a glutton perhaps, certainly by Severus Alexander. I3ee Gothofrecl. ad Cod. Theod. 1. 1. p. 363. Antient instances of fathers putting their children to death are well-known. Some modern examples may be found in Grotius^ epist. 83 and 166. part ii. > b Bynkershoek, Opusc. diss. 3. 138 SERMON XL afida drunkard.,- And all the men of his city- shall stone" him with stones, 'thait he die. So shah fhba put away the evil from among you, and all Israel shall hear and ?ear." * • This law was enacted, by way of terror to bad children. It is to be .supposed that, it was very seldom put in execu tion, and that few parents could bring themselves to treat their children with such severity. But if- either by the connivance ;of parents or of magistrates such crimes were ngt brought to light, God took the cause info his own hands* and declared such offenders to be cursed, and as such, obnoxious to his wrath and to his judgements. " Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mo ther :4 and all the people- shall say, Amen." The ]aw of Moses hath secured and enforced paternal authority in many instances: the crimes also against God and man are enumerated in it with sufficient accuracy! and-p^oper; punishments are appointed for them j afid yet,- what hath, been fobserved concerning the laws of Solon a»d o& Renatnlus, the first an Athenian, the other a RoJ man lawgiver* is also remarkable in the laws of Moses* namely, that no mention is made of muftterer&of fathers or mothers c ; as if it were impossible that aay one could « " Father Le Comte tells us how Want of duty (n this particular ii punished amongst the Chinese, insomuch that if a son should be known to kill, or so much as to strike his father, not only the criminal tut his- Whole family Would' be rooted our, nay, tne" inhabitants ofthe flacewhere he lived would be g$t to the swcicd,. nay, the place itself would be razed to the grpHad, . and its foundations sown with salt ; for, saj^'they, there must have been ah utter depravation of manners jp that clan or society of people, who could ha>vebied op ainongthemi so horrible an offender. To this I shall add a passage out of the fijst book of Herodqtus, ,T_hat. historian, in his account of the Persian" customs and religion, tells us, it is their opiniop; that no man ever kiUed his father, or that it is possible such a criitoe should be in nature j but thatjif, any si#»h 0in£ should ever happen, thsp conclude that the" reputed son must have been illegitimate, supposititious^ c* begotten i# adultery." Addison, Spectator 18Q< SERMON XL 138 do so execrable andeed. But he who struck,' or he who cursed his father or mother was to be treated as he who Cursed God, and blasphemed his holy name4; he Was to be put^fo death. Afterwards, as iniquity abounded* in the trbfld, murderers of fathers and mothers, as St. Paul observes, were no uncommon criminals, and severe laws were enacted by- the Romans and by other nations against such vile malefactors. The fifth commandment not only requires to honour the father^ but the mother also6j an addition which Matty human laws seem to have neglected. • As the laws' were given to the Israelites- with a view td keep them free from the crimes of their idolatrous and wicked neighbours, and from the iniquities of the Egyp* tiaflg- with1 tphorn they had long dw^lt^ it is to be -supposed that the" moral diaries were at thai time scandalously neg lected by those nations, and that the duty of obedience to parents, and particularly to mothers, was as ill observed as the -rest. ^The Egyptians, ai we learK froito antient history V 'We're far from having right notions of it : for they' held; first, that children had more obligation and sbbtttd pay more respect to the father than to the mother; and secondly, that a son lay under no necessity to main tain his- necessitous parents, but that S daughter was obliged to do it. Thus they Compelled a woman, con sidered as a daughter, to assist and maintain her parents* tod yef,J as she was a mother, they took from her* ift a a parietes perfoderis, vicirios compilaris., rfiatrem verberaris^ Cicero Orat. in.Vatin. 5. " . - " Concerning the putltshrrieTrt due to tnose who should' strike their jaother, see Abramtis, in his notes on theplace. " ' ¦ Hk; quibus invisi frattes, . dum vita manebatj- Pulsatusve parens, etTraus'inriexa clienti, &c. . Inclusi pcenam expectant; Virgil. Mn. vi. 60S. . * Praeses — reverentiam debitarni exhibere naatri.filios coget, &c. Viflfiiriiua et Gallieni» Impp* < See Cod. 1. viii. lit. slviii. 4. * Ci#*ta&#a*Eae& xx. i3. 140 SERMON XI, manner all authority over her own sons; which was ab surd and unjust. '•¦•''-' The precept of honouring father and mother shows by the way, that though the law of Moses permitted divorce^ it by no meahs encouraged it, and never intended that the Jews should carry it to those excesses in which they in dulged themselves. For it was very' hard, not to say impossible, for children to fulfil the fifth commandment, when wives were put away upon every slight occasion. Howcould a young person honour his father and his mo ther, when the father hated the mother, and dismissed her, perhaps for trifles, and brought a step-mother into the house ? how could he perform his duty to both his parents ? how* could he behave himself in so difficult a situation ? For this and many other reasons, our Saviour thought it necessary to put an end to these abuses by ri gid prohibitions. — The Jewish government differed from all others in this, that God condescended to be the King of that nation ; whence it followed that rebellion against God was high- treason* and the greatest crime against the state. Moses, gave a very strict command upon this occasion ; he says, " If thy brother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy b@somj or thy friend, who is as thy own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, thou shalt not consent, neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou conceal him ; but thou shalt surely kill him ; thy hand shall be first upon him, to put him to death. 'f ' But here observe that Moses says not, If thy father -or mother entice thee. He seems not to allow a son to beat witness against his p1 arents and accuse them, no, not even in cases of idolatry 'and treason s, « Vassalage hath ever been an intolerable kindo£ servitude," and. not to be admitted.in a free country. A vassal took an oath to his lord, that in his own person he would; serve him,.on,,aJJ:pcsas,ions, SERMON XI. 141 The Scribes and Pharisees in the time of our Saviour did as such hypocrites have done ever since,, they en deavoured to explain away and subvert the moral: law, and to substitute something else in the room of it. They taught, amongst other absurd things, that if a man had once vowed or sworn that he would not assist and relieve his necessitous parents, . he was in conscience obliged to do nothing for them, lest he should be guilty of perjury, Our Saviour says to them, ,, : . " Why do ye transgress the commandment of God by your own tradition? For God commanded, saying, Ho nour thy father and thy mother ; and be that curseth fa ther or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Who soever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free." The meaning is this ; A parent in distress ask§ relief of his spn. The son replies, I vow to God that I will no more give you any of my money, than I would if I had consecrated it all to pious uses. After this declara^, tion, what was the son to do ?, According tq the decision of these Jewish doctors, he was to keep his money, and to let his father starve. This is the detestable .doctrine which our Saviour hath,, exposed, and censured ; as in opposition to it he took care,, to confirm the authority of parents and the honour due, to them. His apostles also have commanded. chij^e/i to. pay all obedience, and submission to parents. , , But here observe that this, like aI],other,du/iesfrc}nu man tq man, is a relative duty, requiring a suitable return. As,ther.e,isa-duty from children to parents, so, there is,a. duty fr,om parents to children. This, duty, as it. appears from reason, from general consent,, and, from many pas- and against all persons whatsoever, except his o«(n father. Mem. del'Acad. t. iv. p."408. ' ^ - - ¦ . "; *¦ -.U„:sV * 142 SERMON XL sages of Scripture, is first, to check them if they do amiss, and restrain them from all that is. prejudicial to their tem poral and eternal welfare ; secondly, to give them proper instruction and education 5 thirdly, to provide for their support and maintenance; and fourthly, to encourage them . to well-doing, and to prefer fair means and gentle usage to rougher methods, which may alienate- their af fections,, and produce more harm than good. This is the meaning of St. Paul's precept to parents, not to provoke their children to wrath, that is, not to raise their passions, sour their temper, or break their spirits by unkindness and severity. If these relative duties between parents.and children be disregarded, wretched will be the condition of such. of fenders, and the ill effects will be felt throughout a nation. When many families are in this disorderly state, laws may be made, and ministers may preach, and magistrates may be active, and jails may swarm with criminals, and exe cutions may be frequent; but the evil will not be so cured: , it lies too deep for such remedies. Our Saviour speaking of the last times, the times just before the destruction of Jerusalem, says that even chil dren should rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death, and that parents should do the same to their children; and St. Paul, speaking of the same times, says that men should be without natural affection, and disobedient to parents. This was also the state ofthe Romans in the days of the apostles, and for a hundred years before. Bad husbands and bad wives, bad parents and bad children abounded amongst them, especially amongst persons of rank and fortunes, and betraying and murdering of parents was a common thing ; which was no wonder, since a disbelief of a Providence and of a future state, igipurity, luxury, cruelty, revenge, ambition, avarice, bribery, robbing the public, and plundering of provinces SERMON XL 14S appeared openly without fear or shamej and unnatural vices had expelled natural affections. The dutiful behaviour of children to parents may be justly ranked amongst those things which St. Paul calls comely, beautiful, and of good report, universally ap proved and admired, not only in the Christian world, but by all reasonable people in all times. We read in antient history of sonsh, who, for having signalized themselves in affection to their parents, for having saved their lives at the hazard of their own, in times of pressing danger, had divine honours paid to them by posterity. And in deed this seems to have been one of the most pardonable instances of Pagan idolatry, and like that of raising sta tues and temples to Virtue. : -Amongst other deplorable instances of the extreme idepravity of human nature, and of the force of evil -custom, one of the most signal is the barbarous cruelty of .parents towards their own offspring. Not to mention the ravage nations where parents sold their. own children, or even devoured them ; nor the superstitious nations, where they offered them in sacrifice to the gods, an iniquity which even the Jews seem to have adopted in their most -corrupt times ; we find that even some civilized, learned, and polite people made no scruple of killing their infants, . or of exposing them in the fields and highways. May there not therefore be ssome instances in which .the obedience of children to parents shall become no longer • a duty ? For example'; A child is exposed by the parents, and must inevitably perish, unless soon relieved. A charitable person takes him up, educates him, and puts him in a way to get an honest livelihood. In this case, I should think, the paternal rights and privileges are transferred * Amphinqmus and Anapis. 144 SERMON XL from the natural parents to the adopting person K :Heis the parent, in the moral Sense, whom the child is obliged to honour, succour, and obey ; and, if in processrof time the youth should discover his natural parents, he owes them no particular service, nor any thing more than wha| religion requires from one man to another. For the rights of parents seem to arise principally, perhaps we might say, entirely, from treating their children as their chit dren, from taking care of them during- their weak and helpless infancy, and giving them education, instruction* and maintenance, to the best of their power and abilities. But here observe that there is a great difference between a parent's doing his duty imperfectly, and his not doing it at all. It is not an ordinary failure on the side of the parent that can cancel the obligations of the children ; and certainly it is much better for them, in obedience to God's commandment, even to surpass the reasonablerre- turns of honour and gratitude, than to fall short of then*. II. And now I proceed to consider,' secondly, the r«- ( compense annexed to the precept : Honour thy fatheii, and thy mother, that thy days may be long upon the land Which the Lord thy God giveth thee. This recompense is well adapted to the persons con cerned ; for as the love of life is one of our earliest pas sions, as it is usually strongest in youth, whilst fair hopes and pleasing days lie before us ; so by a great conde scension God treats young persons according to their own inclinations, and sets before them what they probably pitched upon themselves, if they had been left to their own choice. He offers them length of days, i ¦ (T, • As the adopting of sons was a common practice amongst the Romans, when this adoption was made with the consent of the na tural parent, of the adopter, and of the son, the paternal rights'were in a great measure transferred to the adopter. The laws of adoption are mentioned by Cicero, Orat. pro Dome-, 13. SERMON XL 145 dnd,' consequently, the conveniences of life, without which long life would be no blessing. In the Old Testament, this and other temporal rewards are proposed to righteousness ; and they are so often pro posed, that it is needless to produce instances. The doubt and the question is, Whether this reward Was bestowed upon obedient children in the Mosaic dis pensation ; and ¦ whether it is to be expected under the Gospel? To clear up this difficulty, for a difficulty it is, I shall offer a few remarks, which, I hope, may answer the purpose. And first, I must remind you that the Jewish govern ment was singular in this, that God was the temporal king of that people, and, as such, enforced his laws with temporal rewards and punishments, which could not be distributed without a visible and miraculous providence. This was the state of the people from the days of Moses to the time when the nation rejected God's government, and desired to have a king set over them. God was of fended at their request : he gave them Saul, and he with drew in some measure his extraordinary interposition. Which decreased as the sins of the nation increased. Hence it may be supposed that from the days of Moses to the days of Saul an obedient behaviour to parents was remarkably rewarded with long life ; but yet never so very strictly and invariably, as to admit of no exceptions; and such exceptions were indications of a future state of recompense, and showed that temporal promises had a sublime and spiritual sense couched under them, and would be accomplished in another world. Thus things Stood under the Law. How stand they under the Gospel ? - Sh Paul seems to have- thought that the promise of long life to obedient children Was not cancelled, by the "clearer promises of eternal life under the Christian reve lation. Honour thy father and thy mother, says he, Vol. III. L 146 SERMON XL which is thefirstcommandment with promise, that it may be well with thee, and, that thou mayest livelong upon the earth. He says hot, that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giyeth thee ; that, be longed only to the children of Israel : but he says, that thy days may be long upon the earth ; intimating, that every person who should fulfil, the precept had a title to the reward. I say then that dutiful children have even now, though no absolute certainty, yet a reasonable hope of a long,andJ prosperous life. , For, first, the good providence of God is extended to all and each person, and acts secretly, silently, and effec tually, and often conveys temporal blessings to the righte ous by ways and means not discernible and exposed, to public view. Secondly, there is a natural connection between obe dience to parents and length of days ; so that, if no vio;' lent obstacles interpose, they will in the course of things go together. Whence comes it to pass that young persons neglect their business, keep bad company, give themselves up to vile courses, disoblige their friends, lose their reputation, run into debt, ruin their health, fly their country, get into jails, and there get jail-diseases of body and mind, and commit crimes which bring them to an untimely and ignominious death ? This comes, as themselves' often confess, from an undutiful behaviour to their parents, a — * * ? their authority, and a neglect of their advice," , „-.id reproofs. Parents, usually speaking, though they have their faults, and have committed faults in the. days of their youth,yet desire that their children should behave themselves well, and prosper in the world, that they should be modest, civil, sober, temperate, regular, and industrious ; and SERMON XL 147 children, who in these things obey their parents, take the best method to secure to themselves long life and pro sperity. Thirdly, The Scriptures exhort us to pray for each other, and frequently mention the efficacy attending the supplications of the righteous. The dying prayers and blessings of patriarchs and of other eminent persons were often prophetical, and fulfilled in their posterity. The Pagans had high notions of the prayers of parents for their children, and held them in reverence, as being remark ably effectual ; they also accounted their imprecations to be of dreadful consequence, and thought that he who was cursed by his parents could never prosper. The text will bear a sense suitable to these Opinions : Honour thy father and thy mother, that thy days may be long. It may be translated, that they may prolong thy days ; that is, that by their prayers and blessings they may cause thy days to be lengthened. But since under the Gospel, spiritual promises are more fully prop'ounded, and all things temporal are represented as precarious, if long life should not always be the effect of a dutiful behaviour to God and to parents, it is to be considered that, when a pious and excellent person dieth in the flower of his age, to such an one, to live is loss, and to die is gain ; it is to depart hence and to be with the Lord, Which is far better. The conclusion therefore is, that godliness is profitable unto all things, having pro mise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come : of the life that now is, in all fair probability ; of that which is to come, with absolute certainty. L 2 £ 148 ) SERMON XII. Exodus xx. 13. Thou shalt not hill.* XHIS commandment hath suffered much from two sorts of persons ; from those who have interpreted it over-rigo- rously, and from those who have been too indulgent and relaxed in their notions concerning it, and have allowed themselves and others to commit actions which are cer tainly a transgression of the commandment. Amongst the first sort we may reckon some ancient Christians, and some modern sectaries, who have been of opinion that it is utterly unlawful for a Christian man to take away the life of another man, and by consequence that no Christian can with a safe conscience exercise the office of a soldier, of a judge in criminal causes, and of a| supreme magistrate ; that murderers and other such offenders must not be punished, with death; and that (a man, even when he is assaulted, must not slay the ag gressor i,n his own defence, and to save his life, or the life of his parents, his wife, his children, his friends, and his neighbours; and that war is absolutely prohibited ipensation of the Gospel. , it tnese notions were such as could fairly be collected from the doctrine of the New Testament, they would furnish a more plausible objection to Christianity than hath been, or will be made : for then it might have been said that Christ had destroyed the law of reason, and had built an impracticable visionary system upon the ruins, of SERMON XII. 149 natural religion ; that no kingdom could subsist upon such principles ; and that Christianity was not calculated to be the religion of any country, but only of a few me lancholy persons scattered up and down on the earth, se parated from others, and tolerated by the great lenity and connivance of the civil governments to which they should belong. The Christian religion is not such ; it supposes and takes for granted the religion of nature, and the just rules of civil society ; it speaks to men as to crea tures endued with natural affections, reason, judgement, and discernment, and acting upon allowed principles of morality. The Gospel contains many general precepts, many strong expressions, many proverbial sayings, many universal affirmations and negations, which must be in terpreted and limited by the rules of common sense, by comparing Scripture with Scripture, and Scripture with reason. God, when he gave men life, gave them an inherent love of it, and a right to preserve and defend it. Hence it is that whosoever unjustly and violently endeavours to take away the life of another, or the things absolutely needful for his subsistence and his comfort, as his liberty, his property, his wife and his children, forfeits his own life by the attempt, and may justly be killed, upon the fundamental law and principle of self-preservation. But as men entered into civil society for the common good, and as a man is often not a proper judge of the offences and injuries committed against him, and in his anger may carry his resentments too far, it hath been agreed upon in all wise and well-regulated governments, that each pri vate person shall transfer his own rights into the hand of the magistrate, who, being supposed to be free from pre judice and partiality, is to punish offenders as the laws of the nation shall appoint. No man therefore may revenge 150 SERMON XII. himself, or kill the aggressor, when immediate self-de fence doth not require it, and when? fie hath power and opportunity to deliver up his enemy to public Justice. Without this power of self-defence allowed to every private person, and this authority to punish malefactors, committed to the civil magistrate, there could be no such thing as government, or civil society. If wicked and ma licious persons might assault, rob, cheat, ravish, plunder, and kill, and if good men were obliged to bear it all with patient submission, and to have recourse only to prayers, entreaties, and expostulations ; if wicked rulers might invade another Country, unprovoked, and attack it with fire attd sword, and the poor inhabitants were permitted to Use no defence, such a form of government must soon and inevitably come to ruin : and therefore all interpreta tions of Scripture which authorise such gross absurdities are to be rejected with the contempt which they deserve, and are not entitled to a laboured confutation. These are plain principles of nature and reason. If from these you go to the Jewish revelation, there you will find the rights of self-preservation, the rights of putting murderers, adulterers, arid other notorious offenders to death, the rights of defending ourselves, our families, our religion, and our country, and of going to war with other nations Upon just provocation, established by manv in stances. If from the Law we proceed to the mild and spiritual GosDel of Christ, though it requires lenity, and patience, ?ss of injuries, yet it leaves the rights of mankind, the privileges of citizens and subjects, the au thority Of magistrates, and the civil government of nations, as it found them. It declares human ordinances, and higher powers, the powers of princes and magistrates, to be the 'power of God, because God approves of it, and is the God of order and regularity, and not of riot and SERMON rrXlL 1*1 confusion: it declares that they whp are appointed by the consent of the people and by the laws of nations to pre side and govern are ministers of God, w,ho bear the sword for the punishment of evil-doers. But if the commandment of God against the commit ting, and for the punishing of murder, hath been misre presented and in a manner made of none effect by some weak and superstitious persons, who will not allow to Christian magistrates the right of punishing offenders with death, or to private Christians the right of self-preserva tion and self-defence ; it hath spffered more from those who have been too relaxed. and free in their notions con cerning it, or too favourable to the irregular passions of men, or who have extended the power of taking away the life of others beyond all right, and reason. Whosoever shall consider impartially the laws of Chris tian nations, and compare them with the Mosaic laws and with the whole tenor of the Gospel, will be obliged to confess that they are sometimes too severe and sanguinary3 in multiplying capital crimes, and in pronouncing a sen tence of death upon certain offences which might perhaps better be punished with loss of liberty and property, and with hard labourb. Again; There have been Christians who have extended the right of self-defence too far, and have supposed it lawful for a private person to kill an aggressor who .at tempts to deprive him by violence of the smallest part of his property, or who shall threaten him, or strike,, him. All this is directly contrary to that patience „and forbear ance -required in the Gospel, which obliges Christians, to bear with smaller injuries, and . submit to inconsiderable losses, rather than^ to take such methods of defence. It ">' * Scriptar, non aframenlo, sed sanguine; \- - > This is a consideration rof a public 'nature, which, concerns; those who are in authority. 152 SERMONXIL must be extreme necessity and danger that can justify tb$j taking away the life of another. ; . - "We may observe, by the way, that the loose maxims » of casuists have done great wrong to Christian morality. in general, and to every branch of it. A set of writer^ arose in the church of Rome, who called themselvesjca-f suistical divines,' and deciders of cases of conscience ; and.v some of these men allowed so much indulgence to iniquity, that they gave just offence to serious persons even of their,! own communion. They taught men an art, which may properly enough be called the art of cavilling and com pounding with God, of doing as much evil and as little } good in this life as they possibly could, without incurring < damnation. A dangerous and frantic experiment for a • man to make, where his soul and his eternal state are concerned ! Again ; The wars which are continually waged by . Christian nations are most notorious offences against this divine commandment, against the law of nature, against the laws of God given by Moses, and against the Chris? tian religion, which forbids not only murder, but every disorderly passion, every vice which prompts men to com mit murder. In all the wars which are waged, one side is in fault, and sometimes both ; and in this, case war is < no better than robbery and murder, the guilt of which, i: lies, lv do not say upon the soldiers, but upon thosejft • whose hands is lodged the power of declaring war. k -Jt;is, agreed by all wise and good writers who have treated this „„t,:„. .t--. -'le justifying causes of war ought to be very : ( -— .-.fest, and that nothing but extreme necessity^ can make it lawful and expedient; since upon all suppo- • sitions1 it is a dreadful calamity. . The consequences of it are too well known, and too much felt. They are the ] desolation of populous and flourishing regions, the loss k of trade, the increase of taxes and debts, poverty both - SERMON XII. 153 public and private, the destruction of thousands, and the ruin of almost as many families, besides the sicknesses, the famines, the iniquities and cruelties which always ac- cd'mpay a state of hostility, and follow the crimp. In such times, the more innocent, honest, peaceable, laborious, and useful members of civil society are often the greatest sufferers, and property by an unhappy circulation is trans ferred from the most deserving to the most undeserving hands. But the state and the common practice ofthe Christian world in this respect, as in many other instances, show too evidently that most of those who call themselves Chris tians are so by name only, and neither understand nor regard the religion which they outwardly profess. Few things have had a worse effect upon the minds and manners of men than the admiring and extolling those warriors, commonly called heroes, who to gratify their ambitious views, and their other vices, have carried ruin arid desolation far and wide ; who deserve no more praise than an earthquake, or a pestilence, and who are true images of the devil, of whom it is said that he goeth about seeking whofn he may devour. Another notorious violation of this commandment is the custom of duelling, which hath been so long prac tised and so often tolerated in the Christian world. Ac cording to this custom, he who hath received an affront is to revenge himself, and to take away the life of the offender, or to lose his own in the attempt. This is di rectly contrary to the laws of the Gospel, and also an in sult upon the laws of most nations which allow ho such combats ; and yet through the folly and pride of injudi cious, thoughtless, and wicked men, it hath been very prevalent. Such is the hard situation of many persons with relation to this senseless and detestable practice, that they may be said to live under laws quite inconsistent, 154 SERMON XII. forbidding and commanding the very same action : for, on the one side, the law of Christ and the law of the land condemn duelling, and account it to be murder;; and on the other hand, the law of custom and the law- of honour require it, under the penalty of disgrace and in famy. The only way to remove this hardship, and to cure this evil, would be for Christian nations to execute the taws of their own realms with exemplary strictness and uniformity, after due notice given of it, and bomo pardon any persons who are guilty of this kind. of -murder, and set religion and the government at defiance. ^Such justice and impartiality would soon conquer fashion, and custom, and honour falsely so. called, things which, are fickle in their own nature, and reducible to no real stan. dard ; and then great advantages would accrue to civil order, and to human society. an And here it may be proper to consider another sortpf murder, namely, self-murder, which, whether it be a dis ease, or whether it be a crime, hath been frequent-in this country. ,-::. - ¦,-,,- The learned Pagans were divided in their opinions con cerning it. Some thought it lawful ; others, much wiser in this respect, condemned it, and urged against it this unanswerable argument, that man, as he is not the.author of his own being, is not the master of his own life:; that he is called into existence by the Creator, Fatherland Master of all, and by him placed in the world, to act -the cart allotted to him, and to serve the important and wise ine Providence ; that he is like a soldier upon duty, and must not quit his post till the Supreme, Lord judges it proper to give him his dismission and release* / The holy Scriptures have no direct commandment against self-murder, unless we suppose it to be contained in the law, Thou shalt not kill. But this silence affords no excuse for this' crime, since every coriimaridment and SERMON XII. 155 every exhortation in "Scripture which requires from us a submission and resignation to God's holy will, reliance upon his promises, faith in him, and patience under af- •fliction, is in reality and by plain Consequence a prohibition of self-murder. The examples also of holy persons under calamities prove the same thing ; and Job in the midst of all his sufferings, and the excess of his anguish, and when he earnestly wishes for death, never proposes to lay vio lent hands upon himself, and to take that method of end ing his distress. Christian writers have agreed in condemning self-mur der ; and some have looked upon >it as upon an unpar donable sin, because, say they, in this case there is usually no room for repentance, and therefore none 'for divine mercy0. I would not warrant the justness of this infe rence. One would rather be inclined to think that it is not a single action, though the last action, and a bad one, that must determine a man's future state, but rather the Whole of his conduct, as the good or evil of it shall predominate. It is certainly a crime very heinous and dangerous, when it is the last voluntary act of an ill-spent life, when he who is guilty hath brought himself into di stresses by his own fault, and hath made his existence a burden to him by a course of folly and iniquity, hath lost all practical notions of God and religion, and given the reins to his passions, and inflamed thenito such a degree that he can bear no disappointment. But in bur * ''Wtfen tlie Remonstraiits in Holland wfire persecuted by the Cal- fioiste aadihy prinee Maurice, Ledenberg, Grotius and other worthy men were |lung into prison, and there-threatened to be put to the rack. ""the sad end of Ledenberg, who, as'itis'w'as thought, to avoid the tortures of the fUcky laid violent hands upon himself, after having frequently, prayed to Go4^Jthu£,finishing J.jjs daysman unlawful man ner, was lamented with tears by many, especially by those ofthe Re monstrant party, who always gYea-tly esteerried him." ftrandt, ii. 532,' i.! He must be as barbarqus, as those persecutors were, who would ipshlypassa sentence of reprobation upon this Unfortunate and reli gious man.'' ' l! !f u < ¦ 156 SERMON XII. countiy, where spleen and melancholy and lunacy abound, the far greater part of those unhappy persons, who thus end their daysj have a disordered understanding, and know not what they do : and in all dubious cases of this kind, it is surely safer and better to judge too favourably than too severely of the deceased ; and our juries do well, to incline, as they commonly do, on the merciful side, as far as reason can possibly permit, and the more so, since by the contrary verdict the family of the dead per son may perhaps suffer much, and have sorrow upon sorrow, and loss upon loss. Another transgression of this commandment, and the last which we will consider, is the allowing of sanctuaries to be a refuge and protection to murderers. The venera tion which serious persons of all religions, Pagans, Jews; and Christians, have entertained for places consecrated to the deity and to pious uses, gave encouragement to this superstition ; and it was usual for offenders and cri minals, and for persons in danger and distress, to fly to altars, temples, and sacred places for shelter. This in dulgence, so far as it might serve to protect a man from immediate revenge, and to procure him a fair trial, was not amiss : but it became too often a public nuisance. Irt the Christian world, as the church grew powerful, wealthy, and corrupted, it used every artifice to increase its own dominion and authority, and to encroach upon the- rights of the civil magistrate ; and they who' fled to id religious houses were screened and shel ls w, ...^c crimes soever they had committed. It hath been no uncommon thing in popish countries for ruffians to assassinate passengers in the streets, and then to- run into the next church, and get out of the reach of justice. Such privileges and privileged places are destructive of all good government, and a wicked insult upon laws divine and human. To such practices may well be applied that /"*¦ SERMON XII. 151 severe rebuke of our Saviour ; It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer ; but ye have made it a den of thieves, and of assassins. And here it may be observed, that the same places which have been a shelter to the vilest offenders have been so likewise to the most senseless and pestilent errors, which, when they have once taken sanctuary in that church, are not to be dislodged, but remain there for ever. I shall now add a few remarks upon the punishment due to murder. The first offender was Cain, who slew his brother. The punishment which God inflicted upon him was to depart from the presence of the Lordr from the. abode of his father and mother, where God used to manifest bin> self, and to be a vagabond and a fugitive. From the most ancient, records Of history, we find that exile was often the punishment of murder, and even of accidental and undesigned murder,, or man-slaughter. When a man had killed another, he fled and hid him? self, to escape the wrath ofthe relations of the deceased. Sometimes he compounded with them, and paid affne;; but if no such composition could be made, or would be accepted, he was obliged to live in banishment. In the old world, when violence and bloodshed, and every kind of iniquity had defiled the earth, God destroyed that incorrigible generation,, reserving only Noah with his family, to be the father of a new race. At this time God judged it proper to enact a very strict law against murder, and to make it a capital crime, ; Whoso shed- dettta man's blqod, by man shall his blood be shed : for in, the inmge pf God ma.de he man. In, ,the Mosaic dispensation, the same law is given, and is. often repeated, and enforced: , Thou shalt not , kill. Hefhat smitjetha man sothat he die,, shall surely be put tip death. If a man come presumptuously -upon hi&neigh^ I5S SERMON XII. hour, to stay him with guile, thou shalt take him from mine altar, that he may die. Ye shall take no satisfac tion for the life of amurderer, who is guilty of death ; but he shall surely be- put to death; So shall ye not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land; and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed- it.' In the Law of Moses, even manslaughter, accidental and undesigned,- was attended with grievous inconve niences, and the man was obliged to fly to a city of re fuge, arid might bekflledif he was found elsewhere;' The Christian religion leaves nations to the law of na ture, and to their own civil institutions and customs, so far as they are not immoral, and doth not establish any1. new system of government. As to murder, Christian na tions have agreed to make it a capital crime. ! It may be thought that the precept given to Noah and his sons, and afterwards to the Jews, that every murderer be put to death, being not a ceremonial or political, but a general and a moral law, is of perpetual and indispensa* ble obligation, and consequently that Christian govern ments have no power to deviate from it, and must punish every murderer with death. On the other hand, it is to be considered that the spirit of Christianity is a spirit of clemency and mercy, and that, like its author, it leaves space for pious sorrow, repentance, and amendment, un less the welfare of civil society absolutely interposeth, and then clemericy to one Would be cruelty to the community.' 1st be added, that the taking away the life of another in the way which the law calls murder, is an offence that may be attended with a variety of circum stances aggravating or extenuating the guilt. It is there fore proper that the supreme magistrate should have a power lodged in his hands to mitigate the rigour of the law, when the case is favourable and pitiable, and when SERMON XII. 159 strict justice would willingly give place to ecpiity. I need not add that it is his duty, in the exercise of this privi- l:ge, .to act uniformly, and without excepting of persons. Nothing is more evident and undeniable. - , , It-js not necessary to show that murder is an offence of the most heinous kind : it is well known and acknow ledged. I shall only observe that our Saviour, in his exposition of this commandment, hath forbidden and con demned all those injuries against our neighbour which tempt and impel us to the commission of .this crime. The. Law says, Thou shalt not kill : our Saviour adds, that we are no iess obliged to abstain from causeless anger, con temptuous insolence, reviling language, rash judgement, confirmed hatred, rancour, malice and enmity, calumny and slander, broils and contention. The causes of committing murder are usually reducible to these, either to coveting another person's possessions and attempting to deprive him of them, or to furious anger, strife, and quarrels. Both are strictly forbidden by the Gospel, which wisely endeavours to secure our ohedience by shutting .up the avenues to grosser iniqui ties, and by restraining the inordinate passions and irre gular motions of the mind at their rise, and in their in fancy, before they gather strength, and break out into acts of outrageous violence. t There are things which are as dear and as important to a man as his life, namely, his moral character and repu tation, his health, his peace of mind, his liberty, and the prosperity of his family. He who deprives another of these things may be considered as a murderer,- in the moral sense. Whosoever is at enmity with his neigh bour, and hath been the aggressor, must not hope to compensate for it by any acts of devotion, and of piety, of piety falsely so called ; for he who says he loves God, apd hateth his brother, is a liar, and a murderer, as the 160 SERMON XIL apostle assures us. Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee ; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy vvay ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Thus much may suffice concerning the sin of murder. It is a dreadful thing to consider how frequent this crime hath been amongst us. New laws have been made in our days, with a view to restrain it : but the evil lies deep, and more must be done to reform the morals pf the people, before we can expect any considerable altera tion for the better. ( 161 ) SERMON XIII. Exodus xx. 17. Thou shalt not covet — any thing that is thy neighbour's. J. HE tenth and last commandment may be considered, I. First, as forbidding a crime of an extensive and com plicated nature, the crime of coveting : II. Secondly, as having a respect, more or less, to all the foregoing commandments of the second table, as se curing and enforcing a due regard to them, and condemn ing that temper and those actions which lead to the viola tion of them. I. First, The crime here forbidden is coveting the pro perty of another person ; and of this coveting or concu piscence there are three degrees ; first, a simple desire, se condly, a violent passion, and thirdly, an evil disposition breaking out into evil designs and attempts, which though unsuccessful yet are criminal. The beginning of coveting is a simple desire. When a man considers and contemplates an object that is useful, pleasant, convenient, and alluring, an object of which he is deprived, and which another person possesseth, a wish will perhaps arise that he were the possessor, and he will say to himself, It would be better for me if I had such things, and my neighbour who hath them is in a much happier condition than I am. This simple wish, unpremeditated, and almost invo luntary, and carried no further, may perhaps deserve rather to fall under the name of a weakness than of a Vol. III. M 162 SERMON X1IL crime. And yet there is something mean, and silly, and irregular in it ; and reason and religion teach us that we ought to restrain, and check it in its rise. The better and the wiser a man is, the less he will be troubled with frivolous desires of this kind. Equanimity, contentment, reliance upon God, and resignation to his providence, are virtues which directly teriti to subdue and to suppress, such impertinent thoughts. Such thoughts, though they may not imply any confirmed depravity, show that the mind is not in a due situation ; even as a sluggish heavi ness, a degree of heat more than usual, and an unequal pulse, though it be not a fever, yet is not a proper dis position of body, and a state of health. But, secondly, such wishes, like bad seed sowed in the mind; are apt to take root, and to bring forth evil fruits.; When they have been long indulged and frequently re peated, they produce a fretful uneasiness, and are trans formed into a restless passion, and a continual discontent ; and then the mind is off of its guard, and delivered up to irregular dispositions. The man is dissatisfied with hist condition ; the blessings and conveniences which hef en-j joys, he slights and overlooks with base ingratitude ; the things which he cannot obtain he overrates and admires too, much ; thepersons who possess what he wants are the; objects of. his envy, and in some degree of his aversion.. Such a temper is very remote from a sober regard to the precepts of reason, to the will of God, and to the so cial duties ; for whosoever will be a good man, and a o-nnrt n't-i^n should keep .not only his hands, but, his ;art from the possessions and, the property of others. , . ,,,,*. From this distempered state of mind an easy step is. made to unwarrantable actions, to the laying base projects, and evil schemes with a view to defraud and injure others, and to obtain the things which are coveted, asfarasit SERMON XIII. 163 can be done with impunity, and without falling under the correction of human laws. And this is properly the crime which stands condemned in this tenth commandment ; a commandment which, as we shall show, secondly, hath a respect, more or less, to all the foregoing command ments of the second table, securing and enforcing the obedience which is due to them, and condemning those dispositions and actions which directly lead to the viola tion of them. II. The fifth commandment says, Hohour thy father and thy mother; a precept upon the due observance of which the happiness of individuals and the prosperity of civil society in no small measure depend, and which God hath honoured with singular promises of approbation and recompense. Now, not to covet the things of another, is a law which bears some relation to this commandment, and affords assistance to the practice pf it : for the un grateful and undutiful behaviour of young persons to pa rents often arises from coveting their possessions, and not being contented with that part of it which they receive. Hence ariseth an impatience and a disrespect on the one side, arid a grief and resentment on the other, and the amiable and powerful bonds of natural affection are weak- eneds and perhaps quite broken. The sixth commandment forbids murder; and if you consider by what evil dispositions and by what motives men are led to this last act of villany, you will find them usually reducible to these two ; either to ungoverned anger and malicious resentment, or to the love of Unlaw ful gain, and the desire of unlawful acquisitions. So that he who is contented \vith his own, and covets nothing to which he hath no right, is secure from one of the press ing temptations which drive needy and profligate persons hito this heinous crime. The next commandment is of the utmost consequence M 2 164 SERMON XIII. to the peace of families, and to the welfare of society, and forbids an iniquity most odious in the sight of God, an offence which all human laws condemn, but which they do not always punish as strictly as it deserves : Thou shalt not commit adultery. By the law of Moses, death was the punishment of adultery ; and restitution, with a fine, was the punishment of theft. But in Christian nations, I, know not how and wherefore, this rule is inverted, and it is safer to commit adultery than to steal ; though surely it ought not to be so. To guard and strengthen this important law, the tenth Commandment says, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife ; by which men are forbidden to give encouragement to a criminal passion, or to use any methods tending. to satisfy it, though the endeavours should prove ineffectual. Such were an attempt to alienate the affections of husband and wife from each other ; for as amongst the Jews di vorces were frequent, artifices of. this kind might be fre quently put in practice by wicked persons. All such evil deeds were forbidden by the law, Thou shalt not covet ; which therefore lays a greater restraint upon men than the foregoing commandment against adultery, and requires an innocence of heart and thought, securing men from all approaches and all attempts to do this irreparable* in jury to their neighbour. And indeed the law itself against adultery should be considered as forbidding indirectly, and by way of consequence, fornication and all impurity, as immoral in itself, and directly leading to the practice „r _j. .1— „.. eveil as fae commandment against murder :__. _, - -J-—J supposed to forbid all cruel usage of another, which. may be as effectual to shorten his days and deprive him of his. life as murder itself. The eighth commandment says, Thou shalt not steal. When a man by right of inheritance, or- by his own in dustry, by" fair arid honest means hath gotten a main- SERMON XIII. 165 tenance, it is highly fit that he should enjoy it, arid that none should deprive him of his possessions. Let theft a and robbery be generally practised in any nation, and to lerated, and permitted to enjoy connivance and impunity, there will be an end of all labour, commerce, and dili gence, and such a nation will become a riotous collection of free-booters and assassins, living upon spoil and plunder. The ^Egyptians, with whom. the Israelites had so long dwelt, were great cheats, thieves, and pilferers, as their neighbours the Ishmaelites or Arabians were robbers and plunderers, and are so to this day. The Israelites had in all probability learned the vices of the Egyptians, and therefore it was the more necessary that theft should have a place amongst the more heinous crimes condemned in the ten commandments. The ./Egyptian government made laws against theft, laws not the most rigorous and severe, calculated rather to curb and restrain it than to extirpate it ; for the nation was so addicted to this vice, that, if they had destroyed all the guilty, the country must have been depopulated. The law of Moses also, as we observed, doth not punish it as rigorously as several other transgressions. • To confirm and corroborate this law against theft, the tenth commandment adds, Thou shalt not covet ; which extends itself much further, and condemns all evil prac tices approaching to the nature of theft, or of robbery"; for there are various ways of wronging our neighbour, as cheating, defrauding, detaining, deceiving, over-reach ing, extorting, and taking a mean advantage of his ig norance, bis necessity, his carelessness, his good temper, his hopes or fears, to make a profit of him. These and all oblique-arts of imposing upon others, as they are not ..-".-'}- ?nn : : . / ¦ • .'.,,:»,'-.¦ .-, ' , ;. -,J;*iThe ^acedajmonians permitted theft, and the art of thieving ; but their form of government was in many respects not only singular j "it was absurd-.- - ' 166 SERMON XIII. direct theft and robbery, so they usually lie out of the reach of human laws, and escape the punishment which they well deserve. But they are all condemned by that general precept, Thou shalt not covet : and he who ob serves this rule, and is free from coveting, will keep him self free from the faults above mentioned. The ninth commandment says, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour ; a crime of a most Odious and pernicious nature. It tends to banish from society all regard to truth, -and all confidence which men can place in each other, to distress and mislead courts of judicature, to protect and reward the guilty, to con demn and oppress the innocent, and to establish practical atheism, by profaning the name and despising the au thority of God. The law of Moses, as it here condemns this crime, so in other places it inflicts upon it a very suitable punish ment, namely retaliation. He who by a false testimony would deprive another of his liberty, his property, or his life, is to suffer the same evil which he would unjustly bring upon his neighbour. This also was a law of the jrEgyptians, and of other nations ; but it is so reasonable that it may be accounted a law of nature, and the voice of humanity and of common sense. Of bearing false testimony there are two kinds. The first is wilful, deliberate, and malicious perjury, for which hardly any punishment can be thought too severe, and wWp thp spritence of retaliation is very just. The second itness is in an error, and swears to some false hood, thinking it to be true. This is undoubtedly a fault, which may be greater or lesser according, to the circum- stances. A witness however should be absolutely certain that the fact is true which he attests, or he should abstain from giving evidence, or he should give it as a point con? cerning which he is dubious and may be mistaken. SERMON XIII. 167 With this commandment the command against covet ing hath a close connection : for if you consider all the perjuries, the subornation of evidence, and false testi monies in all times and places, you will find that the far greater number of those who commit this wickedness are hired, bribed, or enticed by lucre, and do it because they covet the things to which they have no right, and which they would purchase at any rate. He therefore who re ligiously observes the law against coveting, will be secure from the most dangerous and prevalent temptation to wrong his neighbour by false testimony. But the commandment against bearing false witness is very extensive, and not only comprehends all lying testi monies given upon oath, but all false accusations, all ca lumny, and defamation, and detraction, open or secret. Thus much may suffice to explain the last command ment, and to show its connection with those of the second table. I shall now conclude with a review of the command- ' ments, and with some further remarks upon them in ge neral. The ten commandments cannot be said to be a com plete body of religion and system of morality, nor even to contain the substance of the Mosaic law. "They may rather be accounted a rough draught, and the outlines of man's duty, and they were principally in tended to condemn those more heinous transgressions, which, if tolerated, would destroy all religion, and sub vert civil society. Take these commandments according to the letter and strict meaning of the words, and you will not easily find in them the duties of piety, resigna- tion, prayer, and thanksgiving ; those of patience, charity, and humanity towards men ; those of sobriety and mo desty, the regulation of the passions, and the improve ment of the heart and mind. Some of these precepts 168 SERMON XIII. are peculiar to the Jews, as the law of the Sabbath, to gether with the promise of happiness in the land of Ca7 naan, and they concern not other people, except indirect? ly, and by way of inference. But as our Saviour, having occasion to mention some of these laws, hath improved and enlarged them, and given them a more sublime and a more extensive mean ing, we may consider the ten commandments as so many general heads, under which several particular duties may be ranged, and to which they may fairly be applied. Let us then take a review of them in this manner. ' The first commandment in the Mosaic law enjoins the worship of one God ; to which the Gospel adds, that as there is one God and Father of all, so there is one Lord and Mediator, and one sanctifying Spirit, one Church of Christ, one Faith, one Rule, and one Hope of Christians.) Hence we are reminded of that unity which ought to-be- preserved, amongst believers j an unity, not of opinion in, doubtful, obscure, and controverted points, for that is, impossible ; but such an unity as love and charity, and forbearance, and condescension, and meekness, and quiet- ness will produce in virtuous minds. The second commandment forbids idolatry, and by,. consequence every thing that borders upon it, and which tends to withdraw us from our trust in God and in Christ., Such is not only the worship of false gods, but of angels, images, saints, and reliques ; and to this precept is justly, to be added every inordinate and blind, affection towards „:„:ui_ _u:-..- ancj tiimgS temporal and transitory. The r , — e ambitious, the covetous man is in a figu rative, and yet in a true sense, a meer idolater, Wealth, power, and pleasure are the false gods, which have been, and are more adored, more devoutly served and worship ed, than any idols or images whatsoever, and have ex, tended their dominion over the face of the earth. Who* SERMON XIIL 169 soever gives up his heart to them, and placeth his trust in them, is in the sight of God an apostate arid practical unbeliever, notwithstanding all his professions to the contrary. From the first and the second commandment we may collect that God is an all-perfect and spiritual Being, and, as our Saviour adds, is therefore to be worshiped in spirit and in truth : and thence may be deduced that part of our duty to God which is properly called piety, as faith, hope, gratitude, love, reliance, resignation, prayer, and thanksgiving, a conformity to his will, and an endeavour to imitate his perfections. The third commandment forbids to take the name of God in vain ; by which not only perjury is condemned, but swearing upon trivial occasions, and all loose and pro fane conversation. A serious reverence for God, for his holy name, and for things sacred and religious, is the, indispensable duty of every man upon the principles of natural religion, and much more" under the Christian covenant. The fourth commandment, which requires the obser vation of the Sabbath, if interpreted according to. the let ter, is a law peculiar to the Jewish nation ; but by the fairest inference Christians may collect from it that man ought riot to spend, or rather to misspend, all his time on his worldly concerns, but set apart some portion of it. for. religious exercises and the.improvem.eni of. his heart ; that in compliance with the most antient practice of the Chris tian church, in obedience to the laws of his country, and evemforthe sake of good example, he ought to .show a decent respect to the Lord's-day, and attend the* public worship of God. This commandment also, interpreted in a moral and a sublihier sense, reminds us that good men always, expect- 170 SERMON XIII. ed a better state than this world can afford to its inha- bitants ; that the Sabbatic rest required of the people of Israel, and the rest which was promised to the obedient in the land of Canaan, were figures and representations of an eternal rest in heaven from the troubles and labours of this life. The foresight and expectation of this future rest is the only solid comfort in affliction, the only sure foundation for resignation and contentment here below1. The fifth commandment, which requires that parents be honoured and obeyed by their children, may be ex- tended by parity of reason to all those who, as they act the part of parents towards other persons, so they deserve to receive the affection, gratitude, love, respect, obedience, and assistance, and all kind offices due to parents. Hence it hath come to pass that one of the most antient titles of reverence paid to kings, to magistrates, to priests, to pro phets, to teachers, to masters, to benefactors, and to elders, was, to be called fathers. Flattery and slavery, and modern courtesy, and absurd politeness have in troduced other titles;, more pompous perhaps, but less amiable and less significant : for to call a man, Lord, is to express a fear of him ; but to call him, Father, is to express a love for him, and no more fear than is consist ent with love. And, certainly, since God himself hath accepted this name, and hath directed us to call him Our Father, we cannot, as far as words will go, honoutany man more than to give him the same title. Even the orpaf-pRt monarchs have affected to be called Fathers of y, though perhaps they have not often de served the compliment, but have rather been such fathers as the, heathen god Saturn, or as some savages who eat or sell their own children b. However, it was not amiss * ArjM^opts fiartXevs. Homer. SERMON XIII. 171 to give this title to every prince who desired it, since it might serve to remind him, if not of what he was, yet of what he ought to have been. Our Saviour calls his disciples his children, and the apostles in their Epistles represent themselves as spiritual fathers, and the Christians whom they had converted and instructed, as their children. Such was the light in which they desired to appear, and such the station in which they chose to act, and such the authority which they claimed and exercised, not temporal authority, government, and dominion, but the gentlest of all powers exercised with affectionate tenderness. They would not accept ev-en the submission and the obedience of Christians, unless it were accompanied with love, and proceeding from, a willing mind. The sixth commandment is against murder. The Go- spel hath secured and guarded this law, by forbidding all. wrath and malice, hatred and revenge, all abusive and reviling language, as so many incentives to violence and to bloodshed. The next commandment is against adultery, and hath been extended by the precepts of Christianity, so as to forbid all impurities, and to discourage and dissuade po lygamy, and divorce also, except in, the case of adultery, or of crimes equally heinous and insupportable. The. eighth commandment forbids theft and robbery. To this law may be referred all those precepts which re quire, of us to do no injury t-o{our neighbour, nor to de prive him of his fortunes, his reputation, his health, his happiness, and his peace of .mind ; but on the contrary, to do him all the services that lie in our power, and that he can equitably expect and desire from us. The ninth commandment, against bearing false witness, may justly be supposed to require an abhorrence of lying, 172 SERMON Xlil. deceiving, and slandering, and an inviolable regard to truth, sincerity, impartiality, fidelity, justice, and equity. The last commandment, which forbids us to covet the things of our neighbour, hath been the subject of this dis course ; and no more needs to be added concerning it. These ten commandments are to be divided into two parts, into those of the first, and those of the second table, into our duty to God, and our duty to man. The first is comprised in this one law, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart : the second is reducible to this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. And who- soever duly observes these two great commandments, can not easily be deficient in performing his duty to himself. The first of these commandments, or the love of God, is the law of piety : the second, or the love of man; is the law of charity. He therefore who in any point de liberately and habitually offends against his duty to God, breaks the whole law of piety ; and he who in the same manner offends in any instance against hisneighbour, breaks the whole law of charity. And in this sense St. James may be understood^ When, speaking of the duty of man to man, he says ; Whosoever breaks one of these command ments, though he should observe the rest, violates the whole law ; namely, the law of benevolence and charity. This love of God and of our neighbour is neither an impetuous and blind passion, nor a mere speculation, but a good disposition produced and cultivated by reason) strengthened by faith, and verified by our actions. To to keep his commandments; and to love men is to do them all the service and all the good that we cam Let us entreat the Giver of every good gift, that he would have mercy upon us, and incline our hearts to keep these laws.i ,10 ^uj Vai.o 'tq 10 >.- .¦:Tj. SL 1. r. ' , , ;>.iiO-.-»q ]9iho -'-'.Mi. Wl/ 7; ;'..; ¦;,(.. ¦ <1- J' ( 173 ) SERMON XIV- Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20. He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgements unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with ' ..any nation ; and as for his judgements , they have not knoivn them. X HIS is the Conclusion of a psalm of thanksgiving, in which God is celebrated for his power showed in acts of loving-kindness, and particularly for the revelation which he had made of his will to the Jewish nation, and for the excellent laws which he had given them, by which fa«- vours they were advantageously distinguished from other nations. That Law which God delivered to his own people, and for which just returns of praise are here made to him, shall be the subject of our present inquiries, particularly the-end and design of it, and its perfections, and also some defects in it which the Christian revelation' hath enabled us to discover. ,*rFrom the Scriptures we learn that God chose the chil dren of Israel, as he had promised to Abraham^ to be his peculiar people ; that he miraculously rescued them from slavery ; that he gave them the quiet possession -of a fruitful country ; that, he wrought many wonders for their preservation ; : that he delivered precepts to them, the observance of which necessarily separated them from other people ; that he raised up a succession of prophets to instruct or correct them ; that he ruled over them him- 174 SERMON XIV. self in a singular manner, giving evident signs oFhis pre sence in the tabernacle, and in the temple, answering them when they consulted him, making them prbsperous whilst they served him, xorrectlftg them by tempdral calamities when they forsook him, and receiving them into his fa vour and protection upon their repentance and amend ment. After he had preserved them a distinct people for more than fourteen hundred years, he sent his Son to them, who was born amongst them, and came to make a new and a better covenarit, to which both they and all Other nations should be invited, and to teach a more pure and spiritual religion. This Messias was obscurely represented in their reli gious ceremonies, and promised in the Law arid the pro phets ; and as the time of his coming approached, the predictions concerning him were more full and clear. If we consider the Law as iritehded to instruct the JeWs in moral truths, and to keep up the Worship of God in the WOrld, we may observe that these ends were suffi ciently secured. When we look into the state of the Gentile world, be fore the coming of Christ, we find not only barbarous and Savage people, but nations famous for arms and arts, for politeness and philosophy, strangely mistaken in reli gion, entertaining doubts and wrong notions both ofthe divine nature, the object of religion, and of their duty to God : whilst we find the Jews, a nation separated from other people, and perhaps not equal to many Of them i and learning, yet in religious knowledge far surpassing the rest of mankind. This we must ascribe to the discoveries which God made to them of his will. From the books' of Moses they might learn that there was one God, maker of heaven and earth, who alone was to be worshipped ; that he was most wise and powerful, most just and good ; that though he would by no means SERMON XIV.; 175 clear the guilty, yet he was the Lord,, merciful and gra cious, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and trans gression and sin ; that they must love him with alb their heart and soul, and their neighbours, that is, their, countrymen, as themselves, and show equal kindness to the stranger that dwelt among them. In a word, God gave them in the two tables, and in the laws added to them, just notions of himself, and a system of morality, which in equity, charity, humanity, and many other- respects, surpassed what could have been collected from the laws of other nations. From the Law and the Prophets the Jews might learn that God did not so much delight in ceremonial obser vances, as in piety, justice,, and charity ; from many ex pressions in them they might suppose and hope that a quiet possession of the land of Canaan was not the only reward of well-doing, but that God reserved for those who loved him a better recompense in a better world. In those books they might find descriptions of God's good ness and mercy proper to raise their trust in him, and to encourage them to amendment and repentance, gracious promises of pardon, and a promise of future blessings, of which, the Messias should be the author and dispenser; which may be said to belong rather to the Gospel than to the Law, arid to be founded upon all that Christ did and suffered for mankind.. And as good laws naturally tend to make good sub jects, and a good religion to make good men, so the lives andbehaviour of some worthies recorded in Scripture are witnesses to the excellence of the religion which they had received, and. by which they were , guided. They were remarkable for piety to God, and for a disinterested love o£,j^r,Ccvunjtry, .they preferred their duty to all worldly 176 SE-RMON XrV. advantages, and endured with patience cruel persecutions, even to death, for the sake of a good conscience. Another end of the Law was to preserve the people of Israel distinct and separated from all nations. Many pre cepts were appointed for this very purpose : 'lam the Lord your God, who hath separated you from Other people : ye shall therefore put difference between beasts clean and unclean.' That having a diet peculiar fo them selves, they might be restrained from eating with the Gen tiles, and so from learning tlieir idolatrous and vicious customs. The Law may be divided into the moral and ceremo- ntal. The moral law was the law of nature : the cere monial law consisted of the various ordinances, purifica tions, offerings,- sacrifices, observations of days, celebra tions of feasts, contained in, the books of Moses. God required an equal obedience to the moral and to the cere monial law ; he enjoined the observation of each in ge neral, with the same strictness, and under the same pe nalties. The Scripture hath recorded instances of severe judge ments, which followed the transgression of certain rites and ceremonies ; and these offences seem to have been slighter than some immoralities, which yet received'not the same degree of punishment. When we consider that the ceremonial is far beneath the, moral law in use and dignity, and that it contains many precepts and statutes which have no intrinsic value, ither to be a burden than a blessing, we may wonder mat God should have chastised the neglect ofit with so great rigour, or that he should have required so strict an observance of it. But, first, such corrections were the more necessary for that very reason. Because the ceremonial was burdensome, and less excellent than SE.RMON.XIV. 177 the moral law, it might have been despised and rejected, if they who brake it had not sometirnes Leen made exam ples to deter others ; and secondly, how unprofitable so ever it might be in its own nature, it was instituted for profitable ends. The reasons for which God established it are supposed to have been these : — First, To preserve the people from idolatry, to which they had showed themselves prone, and to which they had strong temptations, being surrounded with idolaters. Numerous ceremonies therefore were enjoined, which would constantly occupy them in the service of God : Secondly, In condescension, in compliance with their weakness and prejudices, their love of pomp and show and ceremony. Therefore amongst their ritual precepts there were some which probably had been observed by the ^Egyptians with whom they had dwelt, and to which they themselves had been accustomed : Thirdly, To cut off all intercourse between them and their superstitious neighbours, by appointing some reli gious ordinances directly opposite to those of the Pagans : . Fourthly, To remind them ofthe purity arid holiness pf which tfieir rites and ceremonies were figures and em blems, to teach them that they who were separated from all nations to be the peculiar people of God were obliged .to .keep themselves free from the pollutions of the Gen tiles, and to be holy, as the Lord their God was holy : Lastly, To give them some intimations and hopes of fu ture favours, and to prepare them for the Gospel. Thus was the Law partly designedto keep them sepa rated from the Gentiles. They had lands divided to each tribe and family : they could., not easily acquire great riches^ or waste and destroy all their patrimony ; for by the law concerning the Jubilee, estates which had been sold returned every fiftieth year to the first owners, and Vol. III. N 178 SERMON XIV. upon that account must have been bought and sold the cheaper. Usury also amongst themselves was forbidden, which made it difficult to borrow large sums ; nor could they strictly observe their law, and keep up a considerable trade and intercourse with foreigners. The people of Israel therefore in ancient times lived much to themselves, and their possessions consisted chiefly in lands, herds, and flocks, and they were for the most part husbandmen1, cultivating the earth, and subsisting upon its produce. Thus were they placed in a condition which wise and in genious writers have celebrated b, as the most happy, and the most remote from temptations to vice. This leads me to observe that the discourses, sayings, and parables, even so late as in the Gospels, are suited to such a people, and abound with allusions to husbandry, and to the objects with which men are most acquainted in a country life. The wicked are compared to trees bring ing forth no fruit, to whose root the axe is laid. The Messias is he who hath his fan in his hand, to purge his floor ; who will gather the wheat and burn the chaff. The fowls ofthe air which sow not, nor reap, nor gather into barns, and the lilies and grass so beautifully clothed are set before men, to excite them to trust in God. The good tree and the corrupt tree are emblems of the righte ous and of the wicked. The dispositions of the people to receive the word of God are compared to fields ripe for harvest. The righteous are separated from the ungodly at the day of judgement, as a shepherd divides the sheep c *i,„ — ats. The slothful and dilatory servant of a Josephus contr. Apion, i. 12. b O fortunatos nimium, bona si sua norint, Agricolas, quibus ipsa, procul discordibus armis, -' , ,:.,.. Pundit humo facilem victum justissima tellus. Virgil. Cupiditates porro quae possunt esse in eo, qui ruri semper habi tant, et in agro colendo vixerit ? quae vita maxime disjuncta a cupi- ditate, et cum officio conjuncta. — Cicero, Orat. pro S. Boscio, 14. SERMON XIV. 179 Christ is likened to a labourer putting his hand to the plough, and looking back. Add to, these the parables and discourses of the sower who went forth to sow, of the good seed and the tares, ofthe grain of mustard seed, of treasure found in a field, of plants which God had not planted, of the lost sheep, of the labourers in the vineyard, of the householder who let out his vineyard to wicked husbandmen, of the rich man whose ground brought forth plentifully, and who wanted bigger barns for his fruits, of the barren fig-tree on which much care had been bestowed, of a corn of wheat dying, and then bringing forth much fruit, of the true vine, and of its living and dead branches. The Jews avoided the Gentiles, and accounted them unclean, even those who were proselytes, and worshippers of the one God of Israel, if they were uncircumcised, and kept not the ceremonial law. They shunned all fa miliar intercourse with them ; but perhaps only in Judsea, because the Jews who dwelt or travelled in other coun tries could never have been able to carry on their neces sary affairs, unless they conversed somewhat more freely. Another end of the Law, was to set up a form of go vernment differing from all others, in which God him self should be the king, and rule over the people in a most remarkable and wonderful manner. In the days of Moses and Joshua, God manifested his presence among them by a continual series of miracles ; and thus he would have dealt with them perpetually, if they had showed themselves in any degree worthy of it ; for he assured them that whilst they observed his laws, they should be prosperous and victorious. Some laws he gave them which were scarcely consistent with worldly wisdom, to exercise their faith and reliance. Thus ; though horses and chariots were of great ser vice in war, God would not suffer them to make use of N 2 180 SERMON XIV. such assistance ; but he promised that -if they obeyed him, they should subdue their enemies. These promises were fulfilled to David, who says in one of the psalms ; Some trust in chariots and in horses ; but we will remembef the name of the Lord our God. Yet was this law partly political. The nature of their country was such that it was not expedient for them to abound in horses and ca valry ; and God did not intend that they should1 make extensive conquests, but sit down contented with their own territories. Again ; Every seventh year they were not to sow their- fields, nor prune their vineyards, nor reap the harvest, nor gather in the fruits which would grow of their own accord. This in the common course of things must have been some loss to them, especially in a land where they lived chiefly by husbandry. But this inconvenience God promised to remove : If ye shall say, What shall we eat the seventh year ? Behold we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase. Then will I command my blessing upon .you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. Again, The law says ; Three times a year shall all your males appear before the Lord in the place which he shall choose c. By meeting in one place they must have left the country round about them defenceless, exposed to thieves and to their enemies. But here also God pro mised to guard them. No man, says God, shall desire thy land, when thou shalt appear before the Lord thy the year. nence, Dy the way, appears the unreasonableness of supposing that Moses was indeed a virtuous and a wise man ; but that the Law which he drew up for the Israelites was of his own contrivance, and that he called it a divine * This law is considered in a discourse on the Sabbath,. SERMON XIV. i»l revelation, to make the people reverence it, and imposed upon them for their good. If he was a virtuous man, he would not have done evil that good might come of it ; and if he was a wise man, he would never have made such laws as these, and have promised what he was not able to perform. The same may be observed of some lawsd, for the breach of which no human punishment was appointed, or could be inflicted ; but God declared that he would chastise the offender, and mentioned the particular evil that he would bring upon him. Moses, and afterwards Joshua by the appointment of Moses, divided the land of Canaan between the tribes ; and such was their respect for their lawgiver, that for many ages no tribe. encroached upon the limits of another, which perhaps can be said of no nation besides this. It was a sign that they were fully convinced of the divine original of their laws. This division ^f the country seemed to be in some re spects inconvenient, and in all appearance of little con sequence, and beneath the care of the legislator. But the end and design of it might be to make the tribe and the pedigree of the Messias certain and evident, and to prove the accomplishment of the prophecies concerning him. d If a man lie with his uncle's wife, they shall bear their sin ; they shall die childless. And, if a man shall take his brother's wife, they shall be childless. — Levit. xx. 20, 21. Whatsoever man there be of the bouse of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, that eateth any manner of blood; I will even set my face against that soul that eateth blood, and will cut him off from among his people. — r Levit. xvii. 10. When the priest hath made the woman suspected of adultery to "drink the water, it shall come to pass, that if she be denied, and have done trespass against her husband, that the. water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot. — And if the woman be not defiled, ^ien she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.1 — Numb. v. 27. 182 SERMON XIV. Another end for which we may suppose the Law to have been given was, that it might be in some measure a light to enlighten the Gentiles, to spread the knowledge of one God:, and so to preserve it, that it might not be quite obliterated by idolatry. The Israelites indeed, as we observed, avoided familiar commerce with the Gen tiles ; but their religion admitted proselytes, and prose lytes there were to it in all ages, of whom some were cir cumcised and received the whole Law, and were esteemed as Jews ; and others, though not circumcised, yet wor shipped the one God of Israel, and kept the law of na ture, and abstained from blood. It is very probable that the people of Israel, when they were free themselves from idolatry, and not in subjection to any other nation, never suffered any Gentiles to dwell amongst them who were not proselytes ; and in the time of Solomon, which seems to have been the time when that nation was most flourish ing and powerful, there were more than one hundred and fifty thousand strangers6, or proselytes, in the land of Israel. Afterwards the Jews in their dispersions, captivities, and settlements in different places, communicated the knowledge of one God and of morality in the countries where they sojourned ; and in the time of our Saviour there were both Jews and proselytes dwelling in all lands. Nor did the translation of the Scriptures into the Greek tongue serve a little to propagate the truths contained in them. That the Gentiles were indebted to the Jews in ight be showed in some instancesf, and in the remarkable conformity which there is between several of their laws and the laws of Moses. I shall now make some remarks on the defects and imperfections of the Law. e 2 Chron. ii. 17. f Eusebius, H. E. i. 2. et Praep. Evang. SERMON XIV. 183 Though that part of the Law wind? was ceremonial served for good and wise purposes, yet considered in it self, and compared with the Gospel, it was a weak and imperfect institution, fitted only for children in knowledge, and also a burthensome and severe ordinance, as the apo stles testify. How burthensome it was s, and how expensive it was, will appear to any one who examines it with attention, and considers the variety of ceremonies to be observed in the strictest manner, which occasioned many, and often great inconveniences, and which probably no Jew ever exactly observed ; whence doubts and fears would arise in conscientious minds. Add to this that their teachers afterwards, by their traditionary doctrines, and their un reasonable comments on the Law, had made it in many instances more troublesome than it was in itself. To these inconveniences our Saviour perhaps hints, though obscurely, when he says, Come unto me, all ye who la bour and are heavy laden ; ye who labour under the bondage ofthe Law, and are heavy laden with the bur thens which your false teachers have added to it ; and I will give you rest. This representation of the Jewish religion may be thought to bear hard upon it, and to furnish plausible arguments against it. But in truth it was neither needless nor unfit that the people of Israel should have been thus governed and conducted for a certain time. God himself in the first ages of their establishment was their civil magistrate and their king, and they his subjects. But these subjects were prone to idolatry and rebellion, and surrounded with wicked and idolatrous neighbours ; and therefore were bound up by ritual laws in every instance of life and action ; so that whatsoever they saw, and whatsoever they did, they were put in mind of the Lord their God, and 6 See this subject fully considered by Outram, serm. vii. 184 SERMON XIV. of his absolute sovereignty: and their bondage under this laborious dispensation was partly designed to make them the more willing to embrace the Gospel, and the easier terms of Christianity. The nature ofthe Jewish government, as to taxes and tributes, may be illustrated by a familiar instance, by that of copyhold estates. The whole country of Canaan was the land of God, in a particular sense. He miraculously extirpated the old inhabitants for their wickedness. In their stead he chose the Israelites, poor vagrants, who had not a foot of ground of their own ; he gave them a country fruitful and cultivated, full of houses, goods, gardens, vineyards, oliveyards, cattle and every neces sary accommodation, to which they had no right. There-. fore God did not make them freeholders ; they held their possessions under him, and to him they were obliged to pay a large yearly rent, for the service of his court, of the tabernacle or temple, for the support of religion and of its -ministers, and for the maintenance of the poorer people ; and their whole system, as we observed before, seems to have been contrived to keep them in a middle state, so that no one should become very rich, or very necessitous and miserable. St. Paul hath represented the state of the Jews as a state of infants and slaves. He says that whilst they con tinued under the Law, they were children, and that their rites and ceremonies were rudiments adapted to the low capacities of children, and designed to train them up and r r tj]g QogpeJ . J^g gayg aJSQ j.{lat jfjgy were _, „._y had received the spirit of bondage to fear, because they were obliged to the performance of external services which in themselves had no goodness, and .compelled to the observance of them chiefly by ser vile motives, by the fear of punishment. Though in the Law there were sacrifices and propitia- SERMON XIV. 185' tions instituted for several offences, and pardon was pro mised upon these conditions, yet there were many sins for which God appointed no atonement, and offered no mercy. Death was to be the punishment ; and though it was reasonable to hope that repentance might be profit able to the sinner in the future state, yet there was no clear and express revelation made concerning this point. St. Paul also observes that no Jew had so kept the law, as to be able to conclude that he was in the favour of God ; but that he must acknowledge himself a sinner, who, if tried by that law, could not be justified and ac quitted. Because according to the Law, the favour of God was promised on no other terms than an observance of every part of the Law, St. Paul calls the Jewish religion, works ; as in opposition to it he calls the Gospel, grace; that is, a covenant in which God mercifully accepts our endea vours to be perfect, and our repentance and amendment instead of unsinning obedience. Because the Law insisted so much upon a bodily ser vice", the same apostle calls that religion, flesh ; as in op position to it he calls Christianity, spirit. To encourage the Jews to the performance of their duty, the Law proposed rewards to the obedient. But those rewards were a long and happy life in the land which God had given them. Of future happiness they seem rather to have had intimations than full assurances. But those intimations were strong and numerous -, and the doctrine of another state, in general, was known and admitted amongst them. ' The Law was defective, as in other points, so in this, that it was not a general revelation of God's will to man kind;, nor indeed of its own nature fitted for universal use. It seems confined to the people to whom it was delivered, in its promises, in its threats, in its' rewards' and punish- 186 SERMON XIV. ments, in several duties and conditions which it required, in the ceremonies, sacrifices, feasts, and customs which it appointed. It admitted proselytes indeed ; but it could not have been the religion of any other nation; and the num ber of the proselytes, though considerable enough some times, when compared with the number of the Israelites, or Jews, yet when compared with the Gentile world, was so small, that the psalmist might well say in the text; God hath not so dealt with any nation, neither have the heathen knowledge of his laws. And here we may observe that the laws by which the Jews were separated from the Gentiles, and the many peculiar favours which they had received from God, pro duced through the fault of that people ill effects in them, as a conceited opinion of themselves, with a dislike and contempt of others, which is indeed the usual temper and character of those nations which keep up little inter course with foreigners. The law tolerated polygamy, and divorce upon slight occasions, two practices which, though not immoral in their own nature, were attended with bad consequences, produced jealousy and discord, hatred and malice in fa milies, and made it exceeding difficult for children to love their brethren and sisters, and to honour their pa rents. This, as our Saviour observes, was permitted to the Jews, only to prevent greater mischiefs which would have followed the prohibition. Thus God, when he condescended to be their legislator and their king, con- their imperfections, and acted as human gw.^w^xo U1u often obliged to act, who account it wisdom, of two evils to permit the lesser, and to connive at things which they disapprove. From the defects of the Law, it seems reasonable to suppose that it was not designed to continue always. Therefore God, by the prophets, added from time to SERMON XIV. 187 time new revelations to the Law, removing some of its obscurity, and allaying some of its severity, as we before observed, and also promised greater discoveries to be made in his appointed time. Therefore also inspired men, upon certain occasions, neglected and set aside some of the ceremonial laws, to show that they were not of perpetual obligation, and might perhaps, if God saw it proper, be quite abolished. Therefore did God intimate in the writings of the Old Testament that he would one day make another covenant, and consequently a better ; and that this second covenant should take in more people, might well be presumed from those declarations which had been made of God's love to mankind, that he was good to all, and that his tender mercies were over all his works. Accordingly, many are the intimations in the prophetic writings, that God would enlighten the world which lay in darkness, and reveal himself to the Geatiles, and that then in every place incense should be offered to his name, and a pure offering. Thus was the Law a preceptor to the Jews, as the apo stle speaks, to bring them to Christ, a dispensation ap pointed in condescension to the weakness of that people, to train them up and fit them by degrees for the recep tion ofthe Gospel. I shall now proceed to vindicate the Law of Moses and the Jewish religion from some objections which have been raised against them, both in ancient and in modern times. J5ut this shall be reserved for another opportunity. ( 188 ) SERMON XV. Psalm cxlvii. 19, 20. He showeth his luord unto Jacob, his statutes and his . judgements unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation, and as for his judgements, they have not known them. IN a former discourse, I offered some remarks on the Law of Moses, on its end and desigrij its usefulness, and its defects. I now proceed to vindicate that Law and the Jewish religion from some objections which have been raised against them both in ancient and in modern times. First ; Sacrifices were disliked by some learned and re spectable philosophers ; and for this and other reasons, Judaism appeared to them an injudicious and a superstitious religion. They observed that the Supreme God, who is a pure and holy Being, could not be honoured by bloody victims ; that such gross and material presents must needs be odious to him; that none but deemons, that is, an inferior class of deities, could rejoice in oblatiohs of this kind ; that they, being embodied spirits, mightperhaps receive pleasure 1 the steam of incense and of burnt- offer ings ; due mar. honourable sentiments and purity of heart were the only oblation proper to be made to the Father of gods and men, arid the only sacrifice and service which could be acceptable in his sight. Now tb do justice to all persons, and to commend what is commendable even in an adversary, we shall not'scru- SERMON XV. 189 pie to own that there is something plausible in their ob jection, and that it cannot be answered and taken off without making some concessions, and allowing that part of it is not absurd and unreasonable. We must therefore observe that sacrifices were not ap pointed as the most excellent way of serving God, or even as a practice good in itself, but partly in condescension to the weakness of a stubborn people, partly by way of fine and punishment for their transgressions, partly as em blematic ceremonies showing the heinous and dangerous nature of sin which deserved death, and partly as a figu rative representation of the atonement to be made by the Lamb of God who should take away the sins ofthe world. Though they were required by the Law, yet the pro phets speak of them sometimes in a slighting and dispa raging manner, as if God neither ordered nor approved them ; which seeming contradiction may be thus re moved : First, according to the style of Jewish language, things are forbidden or rejected absolutely w hich are only meant comparatively with something else. So that when it is said that God desires and approves not sacrifice, but goodness and righteousness, the meaning is, that he pre fers these -to sacrifice. Secondly, God never commanded sacrifice as a thing of its own nature right and fit, but only as useful or ne cessary by way of consequence. , It was usually a rite by which men renewed a covenant with God, and it sup posed some transgression ; so that if men had never sin ned, it would have had no place. When God accepted it, he approved it only as it was a testimony of contrition, a humble acknowledgement of unworthiness, a desire to honour him with a present, and to be received again into favour and alliance with him. Hence it was that God rejected and abhorred all •oblations where there was no purpose of amendment, no 190 SERMON XV. intention to keep his commandments. He would not al low them to be ordinances of his, when thus perverted and abused. As to those sacrifices and oblations which were not sin- offerings ; the presenting a small part of their food and of their property to God, as an acknowledgement that he preserved and maintained them, or the bestowing a part of it to those who ministered in sacred things, this was a practice in which there was nothing absurd ; it had a plain tendency to keep up a belief in God, apd a na tional religion, and consequently to improve the manners of men. Again; the burthensome nature ofthe ceremonial laws is a considerable objection to them. Such in particular were the laws relating to natural, or bodily, or ceremo- nial uncleanness. The touching of a dead creature, of a leprous person, and of a multitude of things called un clean, was attended with many inconveniences, and re quired many lustrations and purifications : and hence the moral duties between parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters, masters and servants, would' be sometimes obstructed, when the letter of the Law and the dictates of humanity and affection were at variance. Several cases might be put, in v/hich the strict observance of the ceremonial rites would be scarcely practicable, and excessively troublesome. The best solutions that we can offer seem to be these : First ; Since the ceremonial law, in general, was ex-, 1 itable to the situation, capacity, and cir- .he people, particular inconveniences which were unavoidable are not to be objected to the whole system, which, all things considered, was the best that could be established. Secondly ; These injunctions, though seemingly ab solute, must have admitted some relaxation and con- SERMON XV. 191 nivance in cases of mercy, of necessity, and indeed of in advertence. They must have been sometimes violated by oversight, or by other occupations, and, as we may sup pose, were not severely punished, but excusable upon a general repentance : for who could tell how oft he of fended, and what faults he might have committed which were secret even from himself, and had escapedhis know ledge ? It is the voice of nature and reason that no man is held to the observance of impossibilities ; and to ob serve the whole ceremonial law without any deviation, seems to have been impossible. Yet hence scruples, and doubts, and surmises, and misgivings would arise in con scientious minds ; so that this may be considered as one of the imperfections in the Judaical system. Thirdly ; These rigid laws were calculated to stir up the care and caution of the people to observe them at least as far as they could, and never to break them boldly and wantonly, but to fear the divine judgements which might fall upon them ; and thus a general reverence to rites and ordinances was secured. Fourthly ; The burthensome nature of these precepts was intended to excite their regard and obedience to the prophets, who taught them the superior excellence and importance of the moral law ; and it prepared them to receive with compliance and gratitude the Gospel of Christ, which treated them with more gentleness, and removed from them a yoke, which, as the apostles say, neither they nor their fathers were able to bear. Another objection to the Jewish religion is taken from the bloody wars which the Israelites waged with some na tions, and with some cities, by divine command, and in which they were directed to give no quarter to their enemies, but to put them all to the sword. This objection hath been repeated from time to time, and hath been urged as unanswerable. But it is strange that any one who believes in God should 19-2 SERMON XV. think this to be an insuperable objection, a difficulty not to be removed, and a full confutation of the Jewish re ligion, because such sort, of reasoning will overset., natural as much as revealed religion. It will prove, if it proved any thing, that God cannot suffer diseases and calamities to destroy so many of his creatures every day ; for diseases and calamities are in some sense of his appointment, and arise from the constitution and the nature of the things which he hath created. As to those cruel wars and massacres, we may observe, Some actions are so evil, that no change of circum stances can make them lawful : such are breach of trust, wilful perj ury, and every iniquity that is committed against conscience. Other actions there are, which considered in their own nature are evil, but by a change of circumstances become either innocent or good : such is the taking away the life of a man, which when it is done for self-defence, is harmless; and when it is done by lawful authority, and to punish heinous crimes, is right and good. To take away the possessions, the health, or the life of an innocent person, innocent as to us, is a crime amongst men, who have no right to act thus ; but if God should take them away, there would be no injustice in it, be cause he hath a right to give such things, and to resume his gifts. -Now though God cannot be supposed to command or ¦ to permit a man to be envious, malicious, or unthankful, '" 1 r_1 " witness, and to forswear himself, yet he may 1 to take away the life of another man ; for God is the Lord of life, and may recall what he gave ; and when by his command the innocent are cut off along with the guilty, which was the case in the wars with the Canaanites, God can make them a compensation51 in an- a I am sensible that they with whom I am now reasoning would reply that I take a future state for granted. It is true : but unless SERMON XV, 198 other state,' and so no injury is done to them. He ordered the Israelites to destroy those wicked nations ; in which general calamity the children returned to Him who made them, and who could dispose of them more to their own advantage than if he had suffered them to live out their days in this world, and to follow the example of their in corrigible parents. It is reasonable to. suppose that, as the Scripture says, the iniquities of these devoted nations were arrived to the, utmost excess, and that they were as ripe for destruction, and as fit to be blotted out from the face of the earth, as the old world was when it perished by the flood. God might have destroyed them himself by suddeii death ; but he made use of the sword of the Israelites; and since it was fit that judgement should be' executed upon them, it was expedient that the Jews should be the ministers of God's justice. It was decreed by Providence that the people of Israel should be a distinct nation, se parated from all others ; and this way of taking posses sion of the promised land contributed to keep up the, se paration : it made them odious and formidable to their neighbours, and prevented in a good measure any inter course and familiarity with them. Another objection to the Old Testament is, that Moses and the Prophets had not just, notions of the divine per fections, and ascribe to God things unworthy of him. Thus, for example, they represent God as punishing the children for the faults of the parents, as being the author . .of evil, and as obnoxious to human infirmities; and to the passions of grief, anger, and jealousy. As to God's visiting the iniquities ofthe fafhersupon the they will allow this, it is to no purpose to dispute with them about points of revealed religion. There is a previous question to be settled with such a person ; and the question is ; Do you believe in God ? De Jove quid sentis ? VOL. III. O 1.94 SERMON XV. children, it is a subject which requires a full and parties* lar discussion : but to contract it into as few words as .we possibly can, these short general remarks may suffice for the present. First, this threatening being annexed to the com mandment against idolatry, is not properly personal, but rather national. If the people forsook the Lord, and fol lowed other gods, he threatened to inflict punishments upon them, the evil effects of which would be felt by the third and fourth generation. Secondly, God still reserved to himself a power, by a particular providence, to show favour to particular per sons who should distinguish themselves by their good-be haviour, and carefully avoid the vices and iniquities of' their forefathers. Thirdly, when the nation was degenerated, and was punished for it, and the righteous and the wicked were involved in the same public calamities, God was able K> make a compensation to the least guilty and the more in nocent, partly in this world, and fully in another world; From the present inequalities of providence, the Jews might have collected the doctrine of a future state ; and if they did not make the inference, it was their own fault, since they had so many full, clear, and express declara tions of God's goodness, of his impartiality, and of his love for those who loved him, and kept his commandments. ¦ As to the objection that God is the author of evil, it may be replied : s, who had confused and imperfect notions of the Deity, used to ascribe events to Fate and to For> tune, that is, to mere names, to things which had no ex istence ; and supposed their own gods, as well as them selves, to be subject to the imperious dominion of Neces sity. The Jews, who had juster notions of the Deity, &nd acknowledged. one God and Ruler of all, and were SERMON XV. 195 accustorned to a more religious style, ascribed all things to God, even those actions and those events of which he could not be the immediate author. But by this way of speaking they never meant to remove the guilt of wicked actions from men, and to lay it upon God ; they only intended to acknowledge the superintending providence of God, and to declare that no event took place with out his knowledge and permission. In this sense they held that he created both good and evil, and that there Were not two Gods, two Principles, or First Causes, but only one Author of all, of all those powers and qualities which the righteous employ to good purposes, and of which sinners make a bad use. As to those passages of Scripture in which God is clothed with human infirmities, and subject to human pas* sionsi the old and the common answer is the proper one, That these things are spoken in condescension to our ca pacities, and arise from the imperfection of human lan guage, and the necessity of representing things spiritual in a way suitable to our conceptions. That this is a true solution appears from those many places of Scripture in which God is represented as a Being endued with all per fections, and infinitely removed from all defects ; and it is observable that, though human passions are thus ascribed to him, yet human faults never are. When our affec tions or passions are applied to him, we are not to under stand such expressions according to the letter, but in a figurative sense. In him grief, and anger, and repent ance of past favours, are a high dislike of sin ; and jea lousy is a strong disapprobation of disobedience, and par ticularly of idolatry, which is elegantly described under the idea of adultery, by which the soul leaves her God, and yields herself to the impure love of a mean object. Another and a common objection to the Old Testa ment is taken from the behaviour of those illustrious O 2. 196 SERlvIONXV. persons' who are represented as holy men and servant^ of God, arid some of whose actions are not condemned in Scripture, and" yet are not justifiable. ¦ This Objection seems fohave received too much strength from some injudicious answers which have been made to it; for these answerers have laid' it down as a rule, that when the Scriptures mention the actions of good men, without either approving or blaming them, those actions "must be supposed to be innocent or commendable, and must be defended by us as such. But whosoever shall undertake to justify all actions of this kind will soon find that he hath undertaken too hard a task, and will expose not only himself, which is a matter' of small consequence, but his cause and his religion to the scorn of doubters and unbelievers. Therefore we may presume to lay down another rule, as far "more reasonable, which is this : When the Scrip tures mention the actions of a good man in a historical way, without approbation or censure, we are to judge of them according to the rules of reason, of morality, and of good sense, and condemn them if they deserve it. This is a just and safe rule of judging^ if we use it with these cautions and restrictions. First, we must remember that the doctrines of morality in those aricient times were not "so perfect as those of tlie Gospel ; and therefore proper allowances must be made upon that account. Secondly, the history of the Old' Testament is ofteri very short arid concise : and as we know riot all the circumstance's^' we ncline to judge too favourably than too se verely of the actions' of good men which are of an am biguous nature, and'to admit of any candid apology which may be suggested for them ; at least, we should suspend 6Ur judgement in such cases, and not decide too hastily. Moses, as a historian, hath related the manner in which Jacob supplanted Esau, without either approving SERMON XV. 197 Or- condemning it. -It, is, left to us to , examine it by the ru^es,, of reason, truth, justice, and equity: and, upon thus considering it, we must be inclined to determine against it, and to think that it is not altogether justifiable. , Gpd had decreed that of the two sons of Isaac, the younger should be the father of a superior and chosen race, of God's, own people, and that the elder should be deprived of this privilege, and be the father of an inferior or less favoured nation. This. had been revealed to Isaac and to his wife Rebecca ; and probably it was no. secret to the two sons. > Esau had one day, in a careless, and irreligious mood, sold his birthright to Jacob, who on the other hand should not have bought it, and have taken this unfriendly advantage of his brother's indiscretion. The last blessing of a holy man and of a prophet was accounted prophetic ; and Jacob and his mother were per haps; afraid that Isaac, by solemnly blessing Esau as his firstborn, would reverse God's decree ; and therefore they .contrived to deceive him by an imposture, and to make him believe that Jacob was Esau. They should rather have left it to God to bring about the decrees of his providence in such a manner as he judged it expedient. If this was a fault, as it seems to have been, Jacob, as it appears from sacred history, suffered for it. His ac quisition, of the birthright was of no personal advantage to him; as the loss of it wag no personal detriment to his brother, who seems to have had. the greater share of power and temporal prosperity. Jacob was forced to fly from JuV father's house; he was jll used by, his uncle Laban for many years, and he underwent great terrors when he met his brother Esau, and dreaded the effects,, of his .re sentment. Another objection to the Old Testament ariseth from a few .strange, . preternatural, miraculous accounts, w^hich 198 SERMON XV. have appeared, according; to some interpretations of, them* improbable even to -persons who firmly believed the Scrip tures. They have appeared improbable, not because they were miraculous, (for it is allowed that God can do every thing that is not a contradiction,) but because the occasion for which they were done, or the circumstances attending them, or the nature of the thing itself, or the consequences of it, gave reason to doubt that the expressions were not rightly understood. • Such difficulties have exercised the expounders of the sacred ; books, and they have produced two ways of in terpreting. The one hath been to take that sense which was least marvellous : the other hath been to increase the wonderful circumstances, and resolve all. into the power of Godb. For example ; Moses giving the people a summary ac» count how God had protected and guided and fed them in the wilderness, says, without any particular introduc tion, or stress, or emphasis, or solemnity, Thy raiment waxed not old upon. thee, neither did thy foot swell these forty years. .Some interpreters, and particularly the Jewish rabbiris, understand by these words,! that the raiment ofthe Israelites during their abode in the wilderness for forty years, never decayed by using, and never was torn by accident ; and b In Joshua x. it is said that the sun arid the moon stood still. Fa ther Galmet takes this according to the letter, and defends jt thus : - . ,. " The sun and moon stood still at the same time, and the whole machine of the world was at rest; like all the parts of a concert" of adsilence." Is not this admirable! See Grotius -, — _„„.„.„ „„ >aie place, two commentators, who had more learning; and judgement than two hundred Calmets. " " In the same chapter it is said that the Lord cast down great 'stones, from heaven, &c.; ... Most interpreters suppose these to have been hail-stones of an ex traordinary size, which falling with great violence slew many of the Canaanites. But Calmet will have them to haye been real stones.- SERMON XV. 199 that the very clothes, which they had when they were children, grew like their skin along with their bodies, and fitted them when they were men. > Others explain'it thus ; The good providence of God took care that the Israelites in the wilderness never want ed raiment. They were supplied partly by the flocks and the materials which they brought out of JEgypt, and partly by the Arabs, Ishmaelitesj and neighbouring people ; so that they had change of apparel when they stood in need of it, and were not obliged to go -barefoot, ragged, and half-naked for want of clothes. God, so ordered the course of things, that they obtained whatsoever was ab solutely needful, by natural means, or, if they failed, by a miraculous interposition. In general, in the interpretation of the holy Scriptures, the rules of sober criticism, of right reason, and of , good sense ; the sacred and immoveable principles of natural religion, and the dictates, of justice and equity must be consulted, and by them we must be determined. It is a very bad habit which some persons have con tracted, to rail at human reason, as delusive and- imper fect. They might, as well rajl at their own eyes,, because :ihey will not show them what passeth in the planets,. When God reveals and commands any thing, it is: our duty to believe it and to do it, upon. his .authority ; but whether God hath revealed or bath commanded such, and, such things, these are questions which must be tried and de cided by reason : and if reason be discarded, faith is no longer faith, but fanaticism and phrensy. To extol reason in such a manner as to make reve lation superfluous, is as great ?n error on the other hand. Let us be very careful to shun both the extremes. * C 200 ) SERMON XVI. Matt. xi. 30. . ¦ ¦ My y6ke is easy, and my burthen is light. IT would be a most convenient thing for the children of men if pleasure and duty could always go together ; for, as they have a strong inclination to pleasure, they must' nee is perform their duty very coldly and superficially; if they take no pleasure in it. And yet in the present state pf imperfection, the opinion and the- taste' of many per sons is so depraved, that pleasure seems to them not at all consistent with duty, nor duty with pleasure. Hence it comes to pass, that from this struggle between obligation and inclination they become guilty and unhappy'at the same time. Their reason tells them that duty must be performed, their heart inclines, them to irregular • plea sure, and this very pleasure is embittered by reproofsof reason, and remorse of conscience.- Our Saviour, in the .text, proposeth to rectify these errors, and remove these evils, and, like a wise and a kind; master, invites us to come to him, and to be cured of our false taste and our prejudices, and delivered from an un- idemned condition. . Come to me, and tane, upon you my yoke and my burthen, i -< ¦:¦¦ a Since it hath been observed of our Saviour's discourses^ that, they were often suggested by the .objects which of fered f^mselyes to hi§ view, a conjecture hath been pro* ; posed, which is not improbable, that when he. spake the words of the text, he was looking u&bn, the concourse of SERMON XVI. 201 travellers who were coming up to Jerusalem to celebrate one of the great festivals, some of them loaded with bur thens, and all of them fatigued with their journey ; and that he thence took occasion' to speak of things spiritual, of the easy yoke of religion, and of the true rest of the soul. The things which he requires he represents as being really a yoke and a burthen, that is to say, as matters of duty and obligation, with which we must needs comply; but at the same time he assures us that we shall find that . yoke to be easy, and that burthen to be light. The text is clear ; the expressions indeed are figura tive, yet so familiar and obvious, that they want no in terpretation. They offer to our consideration the-follow- ingj truths : i ¦- I. That with respect to the perverse inclinations of men^ the religion of Christ may justly be called a yoka and a burthen : II. That if this religion be considered in itself, it is ah easy yoke-, and a light burthen : III. That it is easy and light, if it be compared With the yoke and the burthen which men often lay upon them selves and upon others : IV. Lastly, That the encouragements and the assist- : ances in the Gospel are sufficient to remove all the diffi culties of which men complain in the practice of their duty. 3I. We may observe that, with respect to the perverse" inclinations of men, the religion of Christ may justly bet: called a -yoke and a burthen. : ' E' The yoke and buthren of Christ is his religion, and more particularly that part of it which relates to practice } concerning which-St. John says that his comrnandments are not grievous. The assertion seems hard to be reconV' »' Some of the following remarks are taken from a, sermon of, l/Eafept, 3*>< -' '¦ ¦ ¦ ^"JS Jj-' " -'- 202 SERMON XVI. ciled with experience, and with the inclinations and beha viour of many, who account the precepts of the! Gospel. to be extremely rigid and difficult. And indeed so they are, in one point of view*, in one sense, and with respect- to human corruptions. ¦ Morality is the hardest part of Christianity. There are doctrines relating to faith ; and faith, which is the belief of things not seen, requires an inquisitive, sober, and religious temper, together with a docility and submission of mind. But yet, amongst us, absolute unbelief is not the predominant defect. On the contrary, many are indolent and lazy in points relating to faith ; and thinking it less fatiguing to assent than to examine, they believe, or fancy that they believe, with out much reflection. Whether such a fdith. as this can be^excusable, or suitable to the nature of a reasonable creature, I shall: not at present inquire. I speak only of matter of fact, and I say that in the Christian world- the easier task is to believe, and the harder is to practise. And thus, to the shariie and disgrace of men, the. jreli- gion of Christ is only a troublesome yoke, because virtue and goodness are so." A person who hath given a loose to his irregular passions,, thinks it difficult to shake off ambition, covetousness, rapaciousness, revenge, and,world? ly pleasures, and to live soberly, righteously, and piously. This is the yoke and the burthen. Consult any man upon the subject of religion ; set before him on the one hand the ceremonial law of the Jews, and on the other hand the ten commandments,: or the moral law, and ask hint two is the most difficult. If he be unpre judiced, arid hath not had his taste spoiled, .and bis un derstanding vitiated, he will reply that the ceremonial law is a slavish imposition, and .that; the-.. moral law. is plain, amiable, reasonable, and so Well fitted to human nature, that men ought to have observed it, though Gad had never required it. Thus he will answer j and yet the SERMON XVI. SOS Jews, for somb.ages, observed tolerably! well tlieir sab baths, their fasts, their peculiar diet^, their purifications, their sacrifices, and all their tedious ritual, whilst, their own prophets and their own historians record and censure and lament their depraved manners. Whence came this? I have already told you, Because in religion everything is easier to a corrupted mind than the practice of virtue. Superstition steps in to the aid of immorality, and. gives a sinner the flattering hopes that by a rigid observation of externals he may compound- with God for the neglect ©f goodness. It is remarkable that there is always more jzeaf and sub. mission to be found in those who are devoted to a> false or a fanatical religion, than in those who profess a true and a reasonable one. This may seem strange, but it is quite natural. In false or depraved religions, .almost the whole system consists in unintelligible doctrines;, in cere- monyj outside show, and bodily devotion; and this is easier than improvement of mind, and amendment- of manners. It is: easier to go a pilgrimage* or to stroll about the world j < than to renounce one bad habit ; it is easier for a.man to whip himself than to mend himself; and to tell his beads than to quit his vices ; it is easier to talk or to. hear others talkiall day about Christ and about faith and grace, than to forgive injuries and to be, chaste and pure in heart. Observe those religions which are made up of supersti tion and ceremony, such as the Pagan religion was, and such as the Christian religion is where it is greatly corrupt ed. Consider what a spirit there is in it, what a passion for trifling ceremonies, what.pious lies and frauds, what zeal to make proselytes;:1 arid to slander, plague, and punish all who are called heretics, what attachment to false teachers, and what blind veneration for blind guides. What is the reason of all this I It is, that these things •SO* SERMON XVI. may be practised without amendment, without renoun* cing inordinate affections, and indeed without one grain of common honesty. Hence I conclude that if Christianity be a yoke and a burthen, as indeed it is to many people, it is to the shame of those who think it and who find it to be so, since: all its difficulties arise from our miscon* duet, and not from its own nature : which leads me to Show, ,;'[,, II. That Christianity, in itself, is an easy yoke arid a light burthen. Natural religion, before our Saviour came, was mir serably defaced, almost sunk in oblivion, in a weak and languishing state, without spirit, without strength, with. out efficacy. God sends his Son to quicken and revive it, and to recommend it to the world. To engage men to the practice of it, our Lord employs the strongest of all motives, the promise of immortality, and the fear of losing this blessed reward, and of exchanging it for in curable misery. The Christian religion is a religion of morality, and that part of it which relates to faith was re vealed', for no other end than to persuade us and assist us to keep the moral law, and to account it an easy yoke and a light burthen. ' The Jewish revelation was a renovation of natural : re ligion, in the Law of the two Tables which God gave from mount Sinai. But Moses, by divine appointment, instituted also many rites and ceremonies, not so much for the improvement of morality, as by way of guard and n order a stubborn generation, attached to sensible objects, who would have gone after the idols and the sorceries of their neighbours, if they had been treated like philosophers, and suddenly reduced to a sim ple and spiritual- religion. Even these restraints oftea proved insufficient ; and this gross and carnal people,-, who Jiad imbibed in the land of iEgypt a tincture of every vice SERMON XVr. 205 and of every superstition, soon turned religion into a mere ceremonial, and left the religion of the heart. From this condition our Saviour proposed, to- release them, to im prove their minds, and to enlarge their views. His reli gion restores man to himself, and its reasonableness will appear to every one who will converse with his own heart, consult his own conscience, and listen to the inward dic tates of truth and equity. . When it is said that Christianity is a republication, a renovation and an improvement of the natural Law, this must not be understood of its doctrines of redemption by Jesus Christ, of a resurrection to eternal life, of the. as sistance of the holy Spirit, and of such points of Christian divinity as are not- discoverable without a revelation ; but of its rules of behaviour, and of its moral precepts.- :. , ,, r Let us consider a .little some of those precepts which seem to be harsh and irksome. The forgiveness of injuries is a Christian duty ; and I say it is also a natural duty. Christianity prescribes no* thing, upon this subject, but what the human understand ing-knows and feels to be right. It knows that there is a,God, the governor and the judge of all, and that it is therefore fit to leave him to be the avenger of injuries, or to" leave it to those who by his providence are appointed to be his ministers, and the public dispensers of justice. The light of nature goesyet further than this. It teacheth us that there is more greatness of mind in forgiving than in revenging injuries ; .that the: latter is an effect of weak* ness, ¦ the former of courage. --.;;-.- m .. 03 xh: ¦ Self-denial is another Christian duty, and is. only thought a rigid lav// by those who -x judging from : the mere.rsojind of the word, contend against a phantom of- their own forming. Let us set the word aside, and examine the thing. To deny. one's self is only to deny and renounce one's vices ; and natural religion requires thl|r>c To .deny &£ SERMON XVI. * one's self, is to return home to one's self : it is to quit that self which is foolish, stubborn, and unruly, and to become a reasonable self. It is to cease from being what we are, and to become what we ought to be, and what We wish the world >would think us to be. From all these considerations we conclude that Christianity is of its own nature a very easy yoke, and a very light burthen, and carries in it the character of its wise, mild, and beneficent author. For, to review the point in hand, it is not an unreasonable demand to ask of men such things as their own conscience owns to be just, to expect that reasonable creatures should listen to the voice of reason, to desire of them that they would not be their own enemies, that they would love themselves better than they commonly do^ and exchange a pernicious self-love^ which fills their lives with bitterness and trouble and remorse, into a profitable and prudent self-affection which makes this life smooth1 and easy, and is a guide to life eternal. It is not unrea sonable to do that for the sake of God which they would be obliged to do for their own interest. Let them con sider what constraint, what pains, what dissimulation, and what artifice some persons will go through to appear'to the world honest, and regular, clear from covetousness, selfishness, pride and debauchery. Christianity only re quires that they would take the same care to be really free from vicious habits. And all things duly weighed, it is perhaps the easier task of the two to abstain from iniquity, than to practise it, and yet to dissemble and hide it. to the third observation, that the religion ©f Christ is easy and light, if it be compared with the yoke and the burthen which men often lay upon them selves and upon others. * Let us suppose the yoke of Christ to be as uneasy as it-appears to a corrupted heart, and let us compare other yokes with it, and see which weighs most, and presses SERMON XVE .207 hardest. - If a man could live in a state of absolute inde pendency, I should not wonder to see him choose such a state : but since this is a mere impossibility, and a man by nature is dependent, and must be subject to laws, those of Jesus Christ are the easiest of all. I need not say much of the Jewish yoke. It was very irksome upon two ac counts. The number, and the minuteness, and the con straint of their ceremonies was such, that, as the apostles testify, neither they nor their fathers were able to bear them. But that was not all ; they seemed to have little or nothing intrinsic to recommend them. It is disagree able to rational creatures to obey laws for which no other reason appears than the will of the lawgiver. The Chris tian institution is not such ; it recommends itself to our understanding by its native beauty and inherent excellence. Where true religion is grossly corrupted, or where false religions prevail, there the yoke imposed upon men is really intolerable. Such were the heavy-burthens which, as our Saviour observes, the Scribes and Pharisees laid upon the people, though they had more wit than to lay them upon themsslves. False and fanatical teachers follow their example, and act the same part ; of which we have seen instances enough in our own days. There are few things which would seem more grievous to me than to obey an ignorant and a bold teacher, who either without condescending to reason with me, or reasoning, as he would call it, in such a way as I. could not under stand, should command me to believe this, and to do that, under pain of eternal perdition. If I represent to others what they ought to believe and to do, I must en deavour at the same time to prove what I assert ; and if I can thus convince and satisfy them, it is not to me, it is to reason and to truth that they pay obedience. .. -. ,i But there is another yoke, the most grievous of any, and that is the yoke of sin,, the yoke which every one 208 SERMON XVL takes upon him, who is a slave to his own vices. It is not possible to imagine any condition more miserable than that of him who persists in wicked courses, committing crimes which his own Conscience condemns, and neglect ing duties which his own reason approves and honours. He pretends to liberty and independency, and at the same time is a most abject slave. His pleasures depend in a great measure upon things which often he cannot obtain, or which if he hath obtained he cannot secure. His mind is in a continual disorder, his behaviour is mutable and inconsistent, he is forced to act an unnatural part by pre tending to be what he is not. He is plagued with re morse for what is past, and with fears of futurity, and can enjoy no rest, but by flying from himself and from his uneasy thoughts. The wise and good Christian is the person who can be truly and properly said to'enjoy rational liberty, and a composed mind, and a well-ground ed hope, and is subject only to him whose service is per fect freedom. IV. But, lastly, as Christianity is equitable in itself, so is it entitled to favours and assistances sufficient to soften all' that may seem irksome in its strictest precepts. The Christian hath, in the first place, the approbation of his Lord and Master, who observes his conduct, and will reward his obedience. He hath also the approbation, of men, who generally commend what is right and de cent. The world's good word is of some value, and he who despises it is a fool. But two reasons should keep. iring it, and being proud of it. The. first is, that the greater part are cold friends to virtue, and therefore careless observers and small encouragers of it : the other is, that they who have a real regard for good ness yet sometimes are not able to distinguish it from the appearances and professions of it ; and so, if they be of a suspicious temper, they will be backward to applaud those SERMON XVI; 209 who may really deserve it ; and if they be easy and cre dulous, they will be apt on the other hand to esteem and prefer those who do not deserve it, and to be dupes to boasters and deceivers. But a good Christian acts his part in a great theatre ; he hath the holy angels, and the holy Spirit, and Christ the judge, and God the Father of all for his spectators ; he hath those to overlook him who love goodness above all things, and discern that which is solid and true from that which is false and counterfeit. This is the great advantage of true religion, namely, the approbation of God. It belonged to the Jewish, as to the Christian dispensation ; • it belongs to every one who doth his duty, whether he be under the law of Na ture or the law of Revelation. In the Jewish dispensa tion, they who were eminent in goodness were often eminently distinguished and recompensed even in this lifft And though under the Gospel the same extraordinary and visible interpositions are not continued, yet God is the same, takes the same notice of the obedience of his faith ful servants, and will reward them openly at the great day of retribution. Besides. this encouragement, there are other assistances attending the performance of our duty. Our Lord hath expressly said, To him that hath, shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly : which is a promise to every honest and industrious servant that God will concur with his endeavours, smoothing the way for him, and re moving obstacles, and inspiring him with wisdom, know ledge, resolution and joy. In the infancy of the church, the holy Spirit acted with a glorious manifestation of mi raculous gifts and graces, and various sensible effects of divine power and goodness. But as the infirmities and the necesskies of Christians will continue through all ages, the divine assistance extends in like manner, and perse- Vol, III. P 210 SERMON XVI. veres to act in a way not less efficacious to religious pur poses, though it be imperceptibly and silently. It is therefore an encouragement to every faithful servant of Christ, that his master will not leave him to his own weakness, bat will make every duty smooth and easy to a well-disposed mind. The nature of Christian truths is such, that every one who duly meditates upon thenl will find sufficient incite ment to his duty. The better we know God, the more" we are disposed to love and obey him. The contempla tion of the universe, considered as the work of God, dis covers such perfections in the Author of all gobd, that the mind is filled with admiration, gratitude, serious plea sure, and a religious awe and reverence, which are ho small part of the worship of God. St. Paul therefore condemned the Pagans, as strangely corrupted, since, hav ing first known God even by the works of nature, they did not proceed one step further, and glorify him as God, The choice which God made of the posterity of Abraham to reveal his will tp them, the visible protection which he afforded them, and the multitude of miracles which he wrought on that account, these were so many ties to se cure their obedience; and not producing that effect, they stand in sacred history an eternal monument of divine grace. and human ingratitude. But still superior are the favours conferred by the Gospel, by the work of redemp tion. Under the Law^ God is a God- who hidetb him self, and Moses only saw the hinder parts of his glory. TU1^ n,^A oi.™,]^ choose one people from all nations, this :>ur to those whom he thus adopted. ¦ But in such a dispensation there is something that disappoints e-ur expectation, and falls short* of the notions which na ture and reason give us of our common Father; and ac cordingly this was only a temporary covenant which in due time should give place to a better. That Providence SERMON XVI. 211 which extends itself to a flower of the field, to a bird in the air, to a worm upon the ground, which pervades and animates and supports all nature, promiseth sublimer things than favours confined to one nation and to a small corner of the earth. Therefore God sends his Son, a light to lighten the world that lay in darkness and in the shadow of death. The end and design of the Gospel to those who embrace it is amendment and sanctification, and the truths contained in the Gospel are the best mo tives to the practice of goodness. The harmony and con nexion between Christian faith and Christian morality, and the encouragements to obedience, concur to make our duty so reasonable and practicable, that Christians only in name and not in reality are deprived of all excuse. What stronger motive can be conceived to well-doing than immortal happiness ? and .what would not a wise man give or endure to secure it ? If the hope of an un certain gain encourages the merchant to undertake long and dangerous voyages ; if the desire of rising to high stations will teach the proud and ambitious to submit to a thousand meannesses and inconveniences ; if the flatter ing pleasure of a criminal passion will induce the sensual to sacrifice every thing that ought to be dear to him ; how much more should the prospect of endless happiness reconcile us to our reasonable service and duty ! After this, let the irreligious go their ways, and. follow their de vices, and at last accuse themselves as much as they will of folly and madness ; for the accusation is just : but let them not accuse the amiable Gospel of Christ, and add to all their other faults that of reproaching and slan dering so kind an institution, and of calling it a yoke which is not easy, and a burthen which is not. light. P 2 ( 212 ) SERMON XVII. Matt. xi. '30. .""" to find out expedients to reconcile these things, and to make the way of salvation more accessible : than it seems to be. Every teacher who .undertakes to do this, may expect a favourable attention from all those who, conscious of their faults and desirous of rest and peace of mind, will lend an ear to an instructor who brings SERMON XVII. 217 them such glad tidings. Our wishes side with him ; and this^ we know, goes a great way towards producing an assent. Let us therefore by all means hear what they have to propound. Some of them tell us that Christ himself hath fulfilled all righteousness in our stead, and that upon our faith his righteousness is imputed to us for justification. This indeed is a very comfortable doctrine ; for, if it be true, the Gospel, as far as I can see, releaseth us not only from guilt arid from punishment, but from duty also. But here must be some mistake ; for our Lord, though he tells us that he died in our stead, or for our benefit, yet imposes upon us the 'keeping his commandments, as a condition to obtain that redemption; and therefore he certainly did not perform those commandments in our stead. We are perpetually exhorted to set him before us, and to walk as he walked ; and why should his ex ample be thus recommended to our imitation, if we are discharged from following it ? The merit of Christ, there fore, will not save us the labour of obedience. So these very teachers, if they are not quite frantic, are forced at last to come round to us, and to confess one plain truth that a Christian must keep Christ's commandments. Bat, say they, it is impossible for a man to do any thing to wards his own salvation : regeneration must be wrought in him by an all-powerful operation of the holy Spirit. Why, this is also an easy way of becoming righteous, since it is impossible under such an influence to fail of being so. But then, on the other hand, what comfort, I pray, is it to sinners, to tell them that, if they are fore-appointed to salvation, an irresistible grace will seize upon them by and by; and if that grace comes not, they shall be lost for ever? If you intend to administer comfort to me, tell me how I may obtain this grace, or you tell me nothing that is worth the hearing. 218 SERMON XVII. After all, To talk of compelling a man to be good, is a contradiction in terms ; for where there is force there is no choice ; and where there is no choice there is no righteousness ; for righteousness is an act of the will. If a man were irresistibly compellea to do that which in its own nature is good, yet he would not be capable of obe dience,, or virtue, or any thing else belonging to the per fection and the happiness of a rational cred.;.ure. St. Paul' .says, Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ; for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do. That is, according to these interpreters, Work out your own salvation ; for you cannot work at all. What an argument do they put into the mouth of the apostle ! Let them take it back for themselves, for it is fit for no one else. The meaning is plainly this ; Work out your own salvation ; for God hath supplied you, and will supply you, - with every necessary assistance for the accomplishing this work. But whilst the Gospel treats us as free agents, and ex horts us to be zealous and abounding in good works, it reminds us also not to trust to our works, but toacknow? ledge ourselves unprofitable, weak, and imperfect crea tures, who continually stand in need of assistance and of forgiveness. So many are our omissions, and so many our commissions, that we must not hope for salvation from our own merits, but from the divine mercy. Since then there -is no such thing as being actually,! re ligious, .either by a compulsion destroying human liberty, die-nce of one person transferred over to anuuiei ; suite it is impossible to be at the same time wicked by practice, and righteous by proxy, the above- mentioned method of obtaining rest of mind, and peace, and security, is fallacious and absurd. Shall we bestow a few minutes upon another set of teachers, who have taken some strides beyond- the for- SERMON XVII. 219 mer, and offer us a still more simple and expeditious way to salvation ? They tell us that God sees no faults in his elect ; that believers, persons rep,enerare, and in the covenant of grace, cannot sin, though they commit those actions which in the-unregenerate and the ungodly would be sins, They are above the obligations of morality ; they .are spi ritual ; and so the Spirit sanctifies the man and his ac tions, of whatsoever kind they be. This is opening the llood-gates of sin ; but in the mean time it is well for civil society that courts of judicature are not regulated by these principles ; and- if one of these saints should there be found a transgressor of the laws, though he should plead that he is not under the lawj but under grace, his plea will not be allowed ; and if he comes off, it must be by the benefit of lunacy. Let us turn to another sort of teachers, and hear an other expedient. These men tell us that we may obtain peace and par don by works of penance, as they are called. When a man hath sinned, say they, he must undergo a punish ment suitable to the offence. He must discipline, and scourge, and famish, and torment himself ; and this, to- gether with confession, and with absolution fKom the priest, will set him right. Now thus much must be allowed, that both reason and religion recommend mortification and self-denial : but this mortification and self denial is properly and prin cipally a restraint laid upon the mind, upon the irregular passions and evil inclinations of the heart, and a careful shunning the allurements of all sinful temptations. As far as the body is concerned, that must be regulated by the laws of sobriety, chastity, temperance, and abstinence, always from vicious pleasures, and on some occasions from those which in themselves are lawful, that so it may 220 SERMON XVII. be held in due subjection to the spirit. But such uncom- manded austerities as hurt the health and strength of the body, and such practices as are merely external, fall under the denomination of will-worship and superstition ; and superstition can never compensate for the omission1 of known duties, and the commission of known sins. And thus we are driven back again to the -point which we wanted to shun, namely, that a renewed obedience and the keeping God's commandments are requisite, in order to obtain pardon and peace. '•'" As to absolution, the church and her ministers can do no more than to declare and promise the pardon and the favour of God to the penitent ; but they must assure themselves of the sincerity of their repentance, and prove it, if they have opportunity, by their following behaviour. It cannot be supposed that men can forgive sins more ef fectually than God forgives them ; and his pardon, during (his life, is always conditional. To conclude this inquiry ; If we leave the plain path of obedience, we rnay try various by-ways ; but truth, truth which will not be mocked or corrupted, sends us back again to our Saviour's express rule ; If thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. This is the flaming: sword of God, which turneth every way, to guard the way of life against all unrighteous and presumptuous per sons. To those who will tread this path of obedience cur Sa viour as expressly promiseth1 peace and rest to their sOuls, and a light burthen. Let us see then whe- — ... — .ind this long-bought blessing here ; let us consider whether the exactness of the rule, and the ne- cessity of complying with it, make the Christian dis cipline too sublime and too severe for human nature, or whether the grace of God doth not mitigate the asperity of these laws, without annulling or destroying any of them. SERMON XVIL 221 1 , These mitigations and alleviations will appear, if we consider, first, that the Gospel mercifully leaves room for repentance of sins, at whatsoever time of life they have been committed. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and true to forgive us our sins. If we sin, wo have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righte ous, and he is the propitiation for our sins. If, after a Christian had offended, there were no hopes of pardon upon repentance and a renewed obedience, it would be a dreadful thing to live under such a law, and such a penalty ; and one prevalent temptation in an un guarded hour would ruin a man for ever. But blessed be the goodness, of God that it is not so with us, and that there is always room for reconciliation, and encou ragement to future diligence. Thus the grace of God gives hopes even to, the worst of men ; and without this favour the best of men could have no hopes at alk 2^ A sudden and perfect change from a vicious to a virtuous state is not to be expected ; it is contrary to com mon experience, and .to the nature of habits ; and there fore it is not to be supposed that a gracious and merciful God will exact it instantly from the penitent sinner. There are persons who talk much of this immediate transforma tion from sin to sanctity : but, if they really believe what they say, they lie under a mistake ; and the mistake is this, that they confound a good resolution with a complete amendment. A good resolution may be formed in an instant, upon some awakening call and pressing motive; but if is the following behaviour which ; proves, the sin cerity of the resolution. However, there is this comfort in a good resolution, that, if a person should be taken out of this life before he^ had opportunity to accomplish all his purposes, it i$ to be hoped that Gad- will accept the • design for the deed., But what say tjhe., Scriptures, in- general, concerning 222 SERMON XVII. amendment and improvement ? They say, Cease to do evil, learn to do well. No one ever learned any thing, that is worth the knowing, in an instant : it is a work of time, and a work of pains. The Scriptures say, Grow in grace. Look round all nature, and you shall find that growing is gradual ; and as it is in the natural, so is it in the spiritual growth, which like a small grain of mustard- seed becomes a tall shrub ; but days and nights must first pass over its head. The Scriptures say, Be ye built up, a holy house, a habitation of God, a temple of the Spirit.. Buildings are not begun and finished at once, unless they bt.j castles in the air. So, then, a man may set out well, though he cannot as yet complete the work of amendment. He can forbear an outward act of sin, though he cannot repress all irre gular desires ; he can fly from an object of temptation? which he cannot resist if it be placed before him. He can pray to God, and beg forgiveness, and read the Scrip tures and other useful treatises, and attend to religious exhortations. And as to beginning well, it is not so difficult as pre judice and inexperience may represent it to an offender* Man is not a creature made up entirely of passions ; he hath reason, and reflection, and conscience ; and there are powerful inducements to amendment,' suggested to us by our hopes and fears, the hope of rest and peace in a better state, and the fears of being cast off and for ever separated from God. Indeed there is no withstanding , if a man will but give them a fair hearing. ii is nut d. giievous thing to love him who made us and redeemed us ; nor is it hard to entreat him daily that he would endue us with religious wisdom and pious resolu tion. No sooner is this done with sincerity, and.seriously repeated, than it makes a happy alteration in the whole marl. Virtue appears amiable and desirable, and hops SERMON XVII. 223 arises in the soul, like the dawning of the day after a dark night. When the first aversions are once removed, the. rest of the task is easy, and is attended with blessings which the world never gave to its votaries. They who set their heart only on the favours of the world, and seek them with all the wit and industry that they can exert, are either disappointed, or, if they receive the prize, re ceive a secret curse along with it, which sinks the value of it to a very nothing. When a person is so far advanced in religion, as to take a pleasure in it, then is the promise of Christ fulfilled, He that cometh to me shall find rest to his- soul. He is freed from the tyranny of lust, from inordinate desires and empty hopes, and those sour passions, envy, malice, and revenge. If he hath the conveniences of life, he en joys them soberly, and without the horrible fears of God's displeasure. If he meets with disappointments, he bears them patiently, by the hopes of a better world. These are the sweet and certain fruits of conforming our will to the will of God, and our behaviour to his precepts ; and not only for the keeping of them, but in the keeping of them, there is great reward. Little thanks then do they deserve from us, who pre tend to show us other ways to heaven than those of con tinued or renewed obedience. What need is there for tricks and subterfuges to avoid precepts which are so rea sonable and so profitable ? What occasion is there for con trivances to shun that religions labour, which not only brings peace at the latter end, but calms and composes the mind even for the present ? And this is rest, in the truest and the noblest sense ; unless by rest we mean la ziness. Let us accept our Saviour's kind invitation, and com ply with his terms, and try the experiment. It is worth the trying. It hath been rejected by many ; and they 224 SERMON XVrf. ; have lamented their folly when it was too late; Jt hath been tried by many ; and we may boldly appeal to expe rience, and say, that no person ever spent his days in ho nest endeavours to pe/form his Christian duty, who looked back with regret upon those endeavours. No: his only regret hath been, that he had not done still more, and been more active, more exemplary, and more uniform in his obedience. SERMON XVIII. Hebr. xiii. 9. Be not carried about with diverse and strange doctrines. AMONGST the diverse and strange doctrines, which are industriously propagated in this country and in this unsettled and fanatical age, there are none more danger ous than those of popery, the progress and the insolence of which is matter of public complaint, and the establish ment of which would infallibly be the destruction of our church and state, of our laws and liberties, of our pro perties and of our lives. The protestant writers, ever since the Reformation, have frequently and effectually exposed and confuted this pernicious religion, and none of tfiem better than those of our own nation ; so that nothing or very lit;tle that is new can be said upon this occasion- I propose therefore to collect what hath been urged by some of our best authors, and to contract itinto the compass of one discourse. The church of Rome pretends to be the mother and mistress of all churches ; and the bishop of Rome calls himself, as successor of St. Peter, the supreme and uni versal pastor of the church of Christ, by divine appoint ment ; so that it is necessary to salvation for every hu man creature to be subject to him. Of all this dominion there is not the least intimation in Scripture ; and it is highly absurd that all the world should be obliged to re-- pair to the court of Rome for the decision of all questions, and to submit to the judgement of a man who is perhaps Vol. HE Q 22© SERMON XVIII. the most ignorant, and the most wicked of all mankind. I do them no wrong : several of these prelates have, been so represented even by writers of their own communion. The church of Rome claims jnfalJibiUtyj and in this she is very stiff and peremptory, though she cannot tell, where it is seated, whether in the pope alone, or in a council alone, or in both together, or in the whole body of the Christians of her communion. However), she is sure that she has it somewhere. It is strange that this privilege should have been from the beginning of Christianity conferred upon the Roman church, and yet that that very church should be at a loss where to find it. Nothing could have fallen out more un luckily, than that there should be such endless differences amongst them about that which they pretend to be the only method of ending all differences, ¦¦ Concerning repentance the church of Rome teaches, that he who confesses his sins to the priest with some de gree of sorrow, and receives his absolution, shall go to, heaven, though he hath led the most abominable life. This is easy enough; but the difficulty is to believe it true : and if it be true, the arguments for holiness will have small influence upon corrupted minds, when remission of sips may be obtained.on so cheap terms. Concerning the; state of men after death, the Roman church Reaches that there is-a purgatory, or place of tem porary punishment, from which the souls of catholics; may be released and translated into heaven by the prayers of . the sacrifice, of the mass, and pious le- gdu« icu iur such purposes^ This_ doctrine is too gain ful to be easily given up ; and this prevailing force of pray ers and masses rests principally upon the visions of some rnad nuns and monks, and the fictions of some crafty ones, -.The church of Rome teaches, that in the sacrament -pf the Lord's Supper there is a .substantial change made of SERMON XVltt. 227 the" bread 'arid wirie^into the natural body and blood of Christy and this they call transubstantiation. Coricei'hing1' which doctrine it may be said truly: a'nd without exaggeration;' that,- in all the various religions 'of the world,- there' is not any article or proposition imposed , upcrtv the belief of men, that is half so unreasonable^and so hardto be swallowed as this. ' And indeed whosoever thinks that such a collection of impossibilities and contra dictions can be wrought by the muttering of five Latin words, must believe it with his will and not with his un derstanding. Yet this in the church of Rome is esteem ed one of the most important articles of Christian faith ; though there is no more foundation for it in Scripture than there is any proof there that our Saviour is really and sub stantially' a rock, a vine, ; a door, a lion, a lamb ; or that. God hath eyes and ears, and hands and feet. But this is not all. It is a doctrine which undermines the Very foundations ¦ of Christianity, and is the sponge of all religion, because it destroys the testimony of the senses. ' :: ' '¦¦-' i"' " '" If the testimony of sense maybe trusted, transubstan tiation is false ; and if the testimony of sense cannot be trusted, - no man is sure that Christianity is true : fop the utmost assurance that the apostles had of its truth was the testimony'of their own senses concerning our Saviour's iriiracles and their own; and this testimony every mart has against transubstaritiation. Hence it plainly follows that nO man, not the apostles themselves, had more reason to think Christianity to be true, than that every- man hath to think transubstantiation to be false. When a papist tells you that transubstantiatiori' is' taught in these words of Scripture, This is my body, you may^ challenge him to show you' any such words there. -When he produces the book and shows them to you, you may tell him, that indeed you see them with- ^dur eyes^ but 22 22S SERMON XVIII. that we must not trust to the testimony of our senses. And so endeth the dispute. > The Church of Rome teacheth that kings ought; to be deposed in case of heresy, and that the subjects are ab solved from their allegiance to them. And this; is not a mere speculative opinion, but hath been frequently prac tised by the bishops of Rome, as every one knows who knows any thing of former times; for, the troublesiand confusions which were occasioned by it make up a good part of the history of several ages. , ¦>' The church of Rome teacheth that heretics, that is, all who differ from her in matters of faith, are to be compelled by violence to submit to her, or to be extirpated by fife arid sword, and charges all her children to endeavouri this to the utmost of their power. This doctrine, like that of deposing kings^ is not at all times and in all places alike frankly and openly avowed. Ask a papist here in Eng. land, and he probably will deny it to be a doctrine of his church. But it is : popish doctrine, and popish practice, thougli it is not thought safe and convenient always to declare and defend it. >' The church of Rome hath established in various places courts of judicature called Inquisitions j the like to which, for their clandestine manner of proceeding, for their un just and arbitrary rules, for their barbarous usage of men's persons, and the cruelty of their torments to extort con fessions, 'the ; sun never saw erected under any govern ment upon earth by men of any religion whatsoever. ff Rome, by holy warsand pious massacres, nam sum ieu times ; more Christian blood than all, the heathen persecutions put together. »'¦" The church-of Rome teaches that no faith is to bekept ^M^thi' heretics rio! promises, no covenants, < and no oaths; ; a doctrine so detestable, and so fraught wte mischief to soeietyy fhafto rrierition it isto-corifote 'i&.'ii^m - ,'• '¦'¦ SERMON XVIII. 829 •" The ^hurch .of, Rome is most remarkably deficient in charity. She pretends to have all faith, faith in its ut most perfection, to the degree of infallibility ; but she al lows no creature in the world besides her own children to have the least degree of faith, though he shoukibelieve every thing that is contained in the New Testament, ber cause he does not believe it upon her word and authority. This is a most impudent pretence ; and yet, if it were true, St. Paul hath told us that he who hath all faith, if he have no charity, is nothing. Astonishing it is that they who hate and persecute Christians, and declare them to be in a state of. damnation, do all the while most confidently pretend to be the dis ciples of JesuSj and will allow none to be so but them selves. That church which excommunicates all other Christian churches in the world, and, if she could,, would extirpate them out of the world, yet will needs assume to herself to be the only Christian church ; just as: if , -our Sa viour had said, Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye hang and burn one another. The church of Rome forbids private judgement and the exercise of reason in matters of religion. Now no thing is more evidently absurd than to reason against the use of reason ; for, if the argument itself is good, reason must be a good thing ; and if the argument be bad, k only proves the folly of him who uses it. Indeed our adversaries are forced to grant us as much as we can desire. For, though they deny a man the li berty of judging in particular points of religion, yet they are forced to allow him a liberty of judging upon the whole. When they would persuade a Jew, a Mahometan, or a Pagan to receive Christianity, or a heretic, as they are .pleased to call us, to coxae over to their communion* and .>pffer arguments to induce him, they do by this very me thod, whether they ;wiU or no, make that man a judge 230 SERM ON XVIII. which is the true religion and the true church. NctW'nft shadow of reason can be given why a iriaft should be fit to judge' upon the whole, and yet Unfit to judge upori parti cular, points ; especially if it be considered that norie can make a discreet judgement upon any religion^ before he has examined its particular doctrines and decided concern ing them. It is not credible that God should give us a capacity of deciding the most fundamental and important rnatter for no other end but to choose once for all to whom we must resign our judgement for ever. This is asteason- able, and as modest, as if one should affirm that God hath given a than two eye's for no other end than that he should look sharply out once for all, and pitch upon some blind guide who should have the office of leading 'him about "blind-folded all the days of his life. The church of Rome celebrates the divine service iri an unknown tongue. This is contrary to the practice ofthe _ primitive church, and to the great end of religious worship, which is edification ; for it is hard to imagine how men can be improved by that which they do not understand. This is a direct contradiction to St. Paul, who hath no less 'than a whole chapter wherein he confutes this-prac- . tice as fully, and condemns it as plainly, as any thing is con demned in the whole Bible ; and they who can have the face to maintain it, need not blush at any thing. Tlie' church of Rome recommends ignorarice as the mother arid the nurse of devotion, discourages as mUch '-'as she can the reading of the holy Scriptures, and keeps " common people. This tyranny she has OAV,tlul.u „.,^ those of her communion for several ages. It grew upon the Christian world by degrees ; for whilst, *by the iftuhdation of barbarous nations atid the decline of learning, the' Romans in a great measure lost their lanCTUagfe, the 'governors of the church still kept up ' the Scriptures arid the service -of God in the Latin tongue^ SERMON -XVIII. 23.1 tybijch-at last- was unknown to the common people. And then,,, to complete all, the. Latin Bi.Bie, which is only a trarislation, and, sometimes a wrong one, hath been pre ferred to the original text. _,,-, Thtisthe.hply Scriptures have heen made a. sealed book, which the people are not worthy to open ; and our Sa viour's doctrine, winch he calls the bread of life, is like the show-bread, amongst the Jews, of which none might eat, but | the, priests, unless now and then by an extra ordinary favour and license from the bishop. Nothing sure, was ever more astonishing than this un charitable anderupl usage pf the people in the, church of (Rprne. It is not easy to decide whether is the strangest, the insolence of the governors in imposing upon men this senseless way of serving God, or the tame stupidity of the people in bearing such treatment,. Why should reason able creatures, be used at this rude and barbarous rate ? as if they were not worthy to be acquainted with the will of God ; and as if what every man ought to do were not fit for. every man to know ; as if , the common people had -only bodies to be present, vyith at divine service,, and,' no souls ; or as if they were distracted, ^nd could not bear too much tight. ; ........ :,,,., And yet, after all) their spiritual fathers have a good reason for acting thus, though they care not. to own it ; .for, since the Scripture is directly contrary to. many of their doctrines, they ought in prudence to conceal it as fnuch as they can, and keep it out of sight, and to represent 'it as a hurtful or, an unintelligible book. Therefore' some •writers of, that cornmunion have, been permitted to speak of it even with -insolence and contempt, tp represent it is . an insufficient law of faith and manners, a feadenYule i(which may be bent and twistedevery.way. , ., „^ . :'. It is true, indeed, that the church, of Rome, though she, withhpldsthe Bible from her children, gives thern the 232- SERMON, XVIII. legends of. the saints, and other godly -booksj : many of which are only fitto create, a contempt of religion ; and i£ Christianity were in reality such as it is there represented,- a wise man would be strongly tempted to have nothing todq with it, and to say, Let my soul be with the phi losophers. . : The church of Rome hath added to the Canonical boc-ksr of the Old Testament, those which are called Apocryphal, the best of which are not of sacred authority, and some of which are of no credit at all. ¦¦' They have further added to the Scriptures, to the writ ten word of God, an unwritten word, which they call oral tradition from Christ and his apostles ; and this they declare to be of equal authority with the Scriptures themselves, and to be received with the same pious vene ration,,. Yet it is evident that nothing can be more uncer tain, and more liable to alteration and. mistake, than tra* dition at the distance of so many ages,^ brought down by word of mouth, and passing through so many mouths. So, then, the general rumour and report of things said and done seventeen hundred years ago is of equal autho rity with a record and a history written at the time ! Tra dition amongst Christians must in the nature of things be what- tradition was and is amongst the Jews, a muddy fountain of everlasting nonsense. ? The church pf Rome gives the communion in orie kind. And yet it is riot .denied that our Saviour gave it in both. kinds, and that the church for a thousand years together aia +u„ „„~_ . This is a sacrilegious taking away an es- - . ,„.j sacrament ; for the wine is as necessary o aspthe .bread, and they might as well and by the same1 authority take away the. pne -as the other, 'and both as wtelili a^ either. , . ;, The church of Rome hath appointed the worship of 2 images .; , which pFactice,- notwithstanding $11 her. refined Si RM ON XVIII. 238 distinctions about it, is as much against the second com- rtiaWSSnent", as the" malicious killing a man is against the sixths Their teachers therefore in their ordinary cate chisms, and manuals of devotion, left out the second com mandment; and to make up the number ten, they divided the tenth into two, lest the consciences of the common people should start at doing a thing so contrary to the express law of God. - They also; worship the consecrated bread and wine, through a false persuasion that they are substantially changed into the body and blood of Christ. This by the confession of their own writers is an act of idolatry, unless' the change be really made. The church of Rome hath appointed the invocation and worship of saints and angels, and particularly of the vir gin Mary, .which hath been for several ages a main part of the public worship of the papists, and of their private devotions too ; and for one prayer Which they make to God, they present ten addresses to the Virgin;, our Lady, the -Queen of heaven, and the Mother of God, as they absurdly call her ; and they have burlesqued the whole Book of Psalms, by applying to her what is there said of God and ofthe Messias. According to them, there are in heaven advocates and patrons for all occasioris,- protec tors for all professions and trades, curers of all sorts of diseases both of men and of beasts, removers of all Sorts of evils, and givers of all sorts of blessings, of whom the chief is the Queen of heaven. Any one who had never " seen the Bible would conclude that more had been said Conot&ffimg the blessed Virgin in Scripture than concerning God and Christ, and that the New Testament were from. the beginning to the end full of precepts and exhortations to worship her. And yet, there is not one single sentence there, that sounds that way. -Some of their most eminent saints are magnified for' 23* SERMON. XVIII. -saying and 'doing: the most ridiculous things ; and their sainlship seems to: be founded upon the: following suppo*- sitions : that foolsand lunatics are inspired ; that he who is very silly in alb other respects is very knowing in reli gion, and must needs abound with grace because he has no wit ;- that preaching to fishes, birds, and beasts is hu mility, and that nastiness and rags are Christian virtues. We read of superstitious princes who have procured! the old garments of saints, and wrapped themselves , up in them, as if piety were like the itch, and might be catched by wearing the foul clothes of a monk. The church of Rome recommends to those who would *nake ari extraordinary progress in- goodness, abstinence from several sorts of meats, watching, and afflicting the body with various rigours,and pilgrimages to distant places. -These were mean -and Pagan notions of the Deity; and -the absurd practices grounded, upon them are no where -recommended in Scripture, nor have .we : any example there besides that of the priests of ;Baal, who wounded themselves to incline their God to hear them. These are •voluntary superstitions which ourheavenly Father requires at no man's hands: and certainly he who mortifies his passions and subdues his lusts may be. good, though he never whipped himself, and may find his. way to heaven •though -he never turned vagabond,- nor walked barefoot to the tomb of our Thomas Becket, or of some other saint of equal value. .. ai The church of Rome hath -introduced a multitude of eremonies, silly observances, and- supersti tious conceits, which tend to make religion appear, con temptible and ridiculous, and to the great detrimentof ¦ virtue and piety, and are contrary to the direction given us by our Saviour, to remember that God is a spirit,. and that he ought to be worshiped in spiritandin truth. se apostate spirits, and the superior power and great goodness of the Saviour of the world, who delivered miserable men from such dreadful enemies.1* The woman of Canaan cried to him, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David ! By standing at some distance, and not presuming to approach Christ, by her SERMON XIX, 941 load conrpJamts,and her earnest and repeated request, she showed her modesty, her reverence, her humility, her affliction* and her faith in Christ. - ; - If it be matter of wonder to see in this woman disposi tions so essential to a good mind, it is no less strange to. find a Pagan so enlightened, and talking a language which the miracles of Christ had not been able to extort fromthe Jews : ^Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David.' She had probably learned from dwelling in the neighbourhood of Judea, that they there expected a Messias, a son of David ; and she had probably heard of the preaching and ofthe wonderful works of Christ, and .thence she justly concluded that he must be the great Prophet. This was more than most of the Jews had be lieved,; and yet they had heard his doctrine and seen his miracles, and knew the correspondence between them and the ancient prophecies. But when men are ill-dis posed and given up to vice and unbelief, the best of proofs wilt make little or no impression. Such was the religious and reasonable temper of the woman. Now consider the behaviour of Christ towards her. He saw her, he heard her ; but he answered her not one word, nor took the least notice of her. The cha racter of our Saviour, his usual behaviour, the design for which he came into the world, all appear at the first sight quite inconsistent with this disregard for his petitioner. We see not here the affability, the compassion and pity for human miseries, which on some occasions even drew tears from him. He. seems to.be no -longer the same person who delighted in dispensing his counsels .and in structions, in bestowing his consolations and his favours, and in leaving behind him in every place the miraculous traces of his love. One would think that his zeal for the glory of his Father was somewhat damped, since instead of seeking occasions to weaken the power of the devil, he Vol. IB. R 242 SERMON XIX. neglects a fair and a pressing opportunity to mortify and disgrace him, and to deliver an unhappy person out of his hands. When to all this we add the disposition and the behaviour of the person who fled to him for succour, his refusal appears quite astonishing. When he censured and sent away the ambitious mother, who wanted to have her two sons exalted above all the disciples, and placed on his right and on his left hand ; when he rebuked with zeal and severity the malicious Jews who called for more mi racles and other sort of miracles, then we admire his dis pleasure and applaud his just resentment. But why should he reject this poor woman with a sort of coldness and disdain, and not afford one word of answer to a very modest and reasonable request.? So much faith and hu mility and distress deserved the compassionate regard of him, who, it is said, loved the young man who came to him for instruction, as soon as he had seen him and heard him speak. -..,--, But if it be our duty not to pass a sudden and a rash judgement upon the actions of our neighbour, much more ought we to observe this rule, when we presume to exa mine the conduct of him who was Wisdom itself. And upon due consideration we soon discover motives and causes of his behaviour which were worthy of the Saviour of mankind. First it is to be observed, that Christ while he was upon earth said nothing and did nothing of him self, as he declared. He acted as the servant and the minister of his Father, he executed his Father's designs, unsels, and entered into his views, with- — ,. ^.vi u^aiting from them. Now though the promise of redemption respected all mankind, yet God had chosen the Jewish people to receive the first offers and the first fruits of this favour, as the posterity of Abraham his friend. The Gospel was to go forth from Sion, and the ministry of Christ was in a manner confined to that na- SERMON X4X. 243 tion. He therefore forbad his disciples to turn aside to the Samaritans and Gentiles ; nor did they visit those peo-- pie and preach to them, till the Jews, with much inso* lence and repeated contempt and cruel persecution, forced- them to fly to other places. This accounts for his refusing an answer to the woman of Canaan, and not yielding to her request, till he was conquered by humble importunity. Secondly, Our Lord, who knew the hearts of men,- both saw and esteemed the good disposition of this peti» tioner ; but for a time he concealed his kind intentions^ being willing to exercise her faith and submission, her patience and perseverance, to make her virtue manifest to the by-standers, and to make her also sensible of the true value of the favour which she at last obtained. At the same time he had an opportunity to expose and censure indirectly the hardness of heart and impeni tence of the Jews, by showing the difference between them and this honest Pagan. A mere stranger believes in him, whilst they of the household of faith reject him. She seeks him out and applies to him, whilst they undervalue the favours which he offers and even presses upon them. But the disciples of Christ knew not at that time the reasons of their Master's conduct, and, ¦'' moved with com passion at the tears and entreaties of the woman, desire him to grant her-request. They besought him, saying; Send her away, for she criefh after us. 'Send her away;' that is,- as I understand it, Give her a favourable dismiss sion, and an answer of -peace. Doubtless 'they wiere sur prised at the coldness and the silence of Christ; and" not presuming directly topress him, they take another me thod, and desire him to relieve them from the importunky ofthe petitioner. Our Saviour understood them in this manner, as soliciting in behalf of the woman, as it ap pears from his reply: he answered them, I am not sent but R 2 244 SERMON XIX, to the lost sheep of the house of Israel ;. it is not my bu-. siness to preach to the Gentiles, and to work miraGles,in favour of them. Whilst he was thus standing stilland talking with the disciples in the presence of the woman, she drew nearer, and knelt down, and said, Lord, help me. His repiy to his disciples was enough to have .de jected her, and deprived her of all hopes, if she had pos sessed less faith and perseverance. But there followed^ another and a severer trial ; for to her humble request our Saviour returned a most mortifying answer : Letihe children first be filled ; for it is not meet to take the, chil dren's bread, and to cast it tothe^dogs. The Jews despised and abhorred the Gentiles.; and the best title they had to bestow upon them was to call them dogs. But Christ seems not to have meant it so. He intended to prove her, but not to insult her. Sometimes he used rough censures towards some sinners ; but they were Pharisees, men puffed up with pride and arrogance, full of hypocrisy and deceit, and deserving his indigna tion. This person, besides her faith and humility, had another qualification to recommend her, namely, her af fliction. It was a beautiful saying, whoever was the. an? thor of it, that Misery is sacred. A suffering person is entitled to a double portion of civility. Our Saviour also, who intended to break down the separation between Jew and Gentile, would not have done any thing to widen the distance and keep up the difference. He doth not use the word, dog, by way of reproach ; and the word I is iginal. His design seems to have been, to ..mmaic lu« ni God's great family here upon earth, the Jews and Gentiles might be compared to the children afld the house-dogs in a family, who are both fed and taken care of; but the children have the preference, as ft is * Kvydgw. . ... ... ., SERMON XIX. 245 just. The history of the Old Testament shows that the Jews had honours and privileges above all other nations, a constant manifestation of God's power and goodness amongst them, and laws of his own appointing, and him self for their king, and his prophi.s for teachers. Our1 Lord's comparison therefore between children and dogs related to the Jews and Gentiles in general, and was not intended as a personal and a particular reproach to her with whom he was speaking. She acknowledged the remark to be just, and humbly acquiesced. It is true, Lord. A state of affliction is a school of humility. When we preach ofthe advantages of adversity, and represent tem poral calamities as marks»of God's goodness, it often hap pens thatour hearers feel no conviction, and rather account such remarks to be words of course, and the language of the pulpit. But in this they are mistaken : the doctrine is true, and experience justifies it. It must be owned indeed that prosperity, considered in itself, is of an agree able and harmless nature, and that it also furnishes abili ties and opportunities to do good, and powerful motives to gratitude and to the love of God. But if we consider man as prone to evil, to such a person prosperity becomes a snare and a temptation, because it makes him proud. If the woman of whom we are discoursing had "not been in a state of affliction, she would perhaps have been dis gusted at the words of Christ, which Seemed to set her and her Pagan fellow-citizens upon the level *with Jcgs: for the Gentiles in general were far from acknowledging this, and from owning themselves inferior to the Jews ; and many of them treated the Jews with much contempt, and represented them' as the scum;, trie refuse, the dregs, and the off-scouring ofthe earth. The pride of man is such, that he cannot bear com* parisons by which he is set below his neighbours, and a 246 SERMON XIX. trifle of this kind is enough to lose a friend and to make an enemy : and therefore by the rules of civility wise men are very careful not to seem to exalt themselves and under- value others, and not to insult and ridicule any person, on account of his calling, his profession, his nation, or his religion. The humility of this woman was great ; and our Lord intended to make it appear in the fullest manner. She submits to his reproof, and owns herself, as a stranger and a Gentile, unworthy of those favours which he had granted to others. And this is true humility. To own our deiects without feeling them, this is feigned humility, and resembles the behaviour of those who speak of them selves in a disparaging way, orily with a- view to obtain compliments or to avoid censure. To feel our defects and not toown them, is an imperfect humility, by which wecon- demn ourselves, but would not be condemned by others. The same wisdom therefore that says, Be sensible of your wants and defects, says also, Confess your sins. Men cannot bear to be placed in that degree which is proper to them, nor to yield to their superiors. Self-love and pride pervert the judgement and darken the understand ing ; and it is an old observation, that every one carries two bags, one before, for his neighbour's faults,- and one behind, for his own. When they are not considered and advanced in society according to their supposed de- serts, they comfort themselves by complaining of the in- iustice. Daftiality, and ignorance of the world. And it have the wisdom and the religion to' stop there, and not to repine at the course of Providence. To confess that we have as much as we deserve at the hands of God, is an act of duty which we difficultly bring our selves to perform. But if every discontented person \frere to examine himself, and the advantages which he enjoys, and the just reasons for which more may' be refused to SERMON XIX. 247 him, and.withholden from him, he would say, as the woman of .Canaan ; It is true. Lord: we have as much as we can claim. ,, Yet the humility of this woman did not exclude her hope and her faith, which were founded, not upon her own deserts, but upon the goodness of Christ. She an- , swered, True, Lord ; yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table. Necessity and di stress are eloquent and ingenious, and this reply is a proof of it. Nothing more lively, more artful and insinuating could have been said upon the occasion. It pleases every sensible reader ; it pleased the Son of God. He applauded her both for the reply and for the temper of mind which Suggested it. Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith : be it unto thee even as thou wift: for this saying, go thy way. The devil is gone out of thy daughter. This is not a testimony to be called in question ;,;it proceeds from Him who was the Light and the Truth, W,ho never misrepresented any action, and never flattered any person. The commendations which we receive, from men have this mortifying circumstance, that they are often owing to their ignorance, or to their good-nature, or to some interested views. If there be any pleasure in being praised, this woman had it in the, utmost perfection, jn carrying off the approbation of one who could not praise any thing that was not praise- worthy. He admired and loved a faith so thoroughly examined and proved, and in her he beheld with pleasure the success of his ministry, and th,e execution of his Father's designs in the conver sion of the. Gentile world. . , Her faith was great, both as she, was a Pagan, arid as she stands compared with. the. Jews. ,, It was, great wjth relation to her religion and to her xountry. Her religion, 'was Paganism ; and we all know the imperious force of education, and the usual attach- 248 SERMON XIX. ment to prejudices imbibed in our youth. It is not im probable however that she might have obtained some con ceptions ofthe true God, and have been so far led as for think the Jewish religion preferable to idolatry ; and this might induce her to entertain an honourable notion of Christ as of a great prophet. She was also in distress ; ¦ and grief and anxiety will make the sufferers try every ; expedient, and seize every opportunity to obtain relief, and throw away all pride and resentment. But that which sets her faith in the brightest view, is the contrast between her belief and the unbelief of the Jews. If our Saviour had cause to expect submission and docility any where, it must have been in a nation to which the Messias had been promised by the Law and the Prophets, and who pretended to wish for his appearance. Therefore the. praises which he confers upon this woman are so many. oblique censures of those who rejected him. In many of his discourses he alludes to this different treatment which he received from different persons, and to the good temper of those who had the fewer motives and inducements. He reproaches the Pharisees by observing that the very publicans and harlots entered into the kingdom of heaven before them. He declares that Tyre and Sidon, idolatrous cities, would have paid him more regard than he found at Corazin and Bethsaida, cities of Judsea. He com mended the faith of this woman as surpassing that of some of his followers, and he said of the centurion, that he had not found so great faith, no not in Israel. And indeed : of faith was not so praise-worthy in a „-... cw a iuwci degree in the breast of a Pagan, how.i much more did the lively and persevering faith of this person deserve the approbation of our Lord ? If this com- , parison was so disgraceful to the Jews, it is no less so to those Christians, who, professing a belief in Christ,, act rather worse than Pagans and infidels. ,.„., _ _..,., .,,•„;;.•. .nm Her faith was not only illustrious, if you consider her. SERMON XIX. 249 as a Pagan by education, or if you compare her with the unbelieving Jews, but it was so, considered in itself. They who would not believe till they had seen repeated miracles, had a sort of belief which deserves small com-., mendation. The difficulty after such conviction seems rather to lie on the -other side, and it is hard to resist and reject such evidence. So that we cannot consider the case of those who withstood such proofs, without won dering at their obstinacy, and deploring such a total cor ruption of fit-art. She of whom we are speaking had as yet seen no miracles, she was an alien and a stranger, Christ appeared then for the first time in the regions where she dweit, and yet she believes. No small accomplish ment, if we may judge of it by our Saviour's determina tion ; Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed. Her faith was not only great, as she had not the assist ance of sight, and the overbearing evidence arising from the testimony of the senses, but because it passed through a severe trial, and was victorious by its unshaken con stancy. Perseverance crowns every virtue, and perse verance acquired her the most glorious reward, even the applause of the Son of God. And thus the behaviour of our Lord unfolds itself to our full satisfaction, and We' see and admire the reasons of his first silence, and of his harsh refusal. Love and mercy lay concealed under this forbidding appearance, and the temptation terminated, in the honour of the suppliant, in the glory of God, and the advancement of the Gospel. The philosopher judged not amiss, who said that no spectacle was more worthy for God himself to behold than a good man fried with bad fortune and retaining his integrity and resolution. A faith which overcomes all doubts and difficulties is bdgun, continued, and completed by the exercise, of our' 'reasoning faculties. They who represent faith as blind 250 SERMON XIX. and credulous are widely mistaken. Faith is an assent upon rational grounds ; and if you examine the faith of all those persons who are recommended in Scripture upon that account, you will find it to have been a persuasion excited by proper motives and sufficient evidence. This woman had sufficient reason, from the testimony of others, to believe that Christ wrought beneficial miracles, and taught a holy doctrine. She therefore applied to him, and trusted in his power and goodness. For faith is not bare believing, but a belief accompanied with honest and / religious dispositions. The effect and the reward of her faith was this ; Be it unto thee even as thou wilt. When we consider the advantages of faith, a wish may arise that we might see those happy times return when faith obtained extraordinary favours and miraculous cures. But that wish is not reasonable. Miracles were necessary to introduce Christianity, and to support the infant church. When she arrived to a state of maturity, they were no longer expedient. ' Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.' Singular are the privileges of faith, by which man takes the kingdom, of heaven by a kind of violence. The favour of God and eternal. life are gained by it. But we must take heed not to understand by faith a mere belief distinguished from good works. This is a fanatical folly, as it may appear from various considerations, and even from this one re mark, that faith itself is a good work. It consists in^a , a teachable temper, a submission to pro per evidence, a public acknowledgement of the truth, and a behaviour suitable to the persuasion. These I must call good works, till I can find some other name to cajl them by ; and this is the only, faith which God hath pro mised to accept and to reward. ( 251 ) SERMON XX. Matt. xv. 22. And behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, 0 Lord, thou son of David ; my daughter is grie vously vexed with a devil. , J. HE importunate and yet humble request of the woman of Canaan, and the reward of her faith and perseverance, were considered in a former discourse. But the subject affords several remarks which were then either . passed over, or more slightly discussed. It seems surprising to find in the Gospels so great, a number of petitioners who applied therriselves to Christ, to beg that he would exert his miraculous powers in heal ing the diseases and the infirmities of their bodies ; and only one person who requested a cure for the diseases of the soul, and for pardon and peace of mind. And that wise person was a woman who had been a sinner and, had lost her reputation, and who at the Pharisee's house wash ed his feet with her tears, and anointed them with oint ment, and received from him the gracious assurance that all her past sins were forgiven, upon her faith and re pentance, her singular piety, and her affectionate gratitude. Is it so then ? Are the distempers of the soul less real and less dangerous than thbse^of the body? And ought the advantages ofthe present life to be dearer to us than those of eternity ? Judge for yourselves, and at the same time you must needs condemn that inordinate self-love 252 SERMON XX. ' which induces us to prefer the interests of the body to those of the soul, and a transitory life to a glorious im mortality. And yet it is observable that these persons, though sin ners more or less, though having their present welfare chiefly in view, obtain from Christ even temporal bless ings, the removal of their diseases, and the renewal of their health and strength. The Christian world produced a set of speculative and mystical divines, who cried up a silent and contemplative life, a disregard for the body and for sensible objects, and required a pure and disinterested love of God, without any respect to God's benefits and to our own salvation. One wouIH wish that these refiners had condescended to explain to us how it came to pass that Jesus Christ, Who was the Wisdom as well as the Power of God, so often hearkened to such self- interested requests, and not only relieved but sometimes commended those whom he mi raculously healed. The desire to recover bodily health and the use of the limbs, and thereby to be enabled to labour for a subsistence without depending upon the cha rity of others, must surely have been an innocent incli nation, or else Christ would not have obliged sUch pe titioners in such a manner, he who always rejected and refused unreasonable and" improper requests. Indeed in these very persons we find a commendable disposition,' namely, a lively faith in him. One says to herself. If I can but touch the hem of his garment, I shall d this secret act of faith produced a sudden and a miraculous effect. A virtue proceeding from him re stored health, and dispelled an inveterate disease which had baffled all the art of the physicians. We find him requiring faith from those whom he cured, and saying, Believe ye that I can do this ? If So, accord ing to your faith be it done unto you. We find him com- SERMON XX. 253 mending an uncommon degree of this faith, especially where it was. least to be expected, in aliens, in Samari tans, in Pagans ; as in the centurion, and in the woman of Canaan, who requested, the one the cure of his dying son, the other the deliverance of her daughter from an evil spirit. Let us admire and adore herein the goodness of God, who doth not deal rigorously with poor mortals, nor re quire of them either a belief of intricate subtilties, or re fined acts of sublime devotion ; but prppoitions his mer cies to their wants, an^i even to their weaknesses, and re wards an honest disposition to acknowledge his power, and to trust in his clemency. Seek ye first the kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, says our Lord to us ; but yet he gives us leave to seek the things of this world in a subordinate degree, and to ask of his Father our daily bread, or the necessaries of life. 'Besides, It was expedient, or rather it was necessary, that Christ should exert his power in healing all manner pf sicknesses and diseases, because it was part of the cha racter of the, Messias ; it was foretold by the ancient pro phecies, which it was his office to fulfil. And therefore he, says to John's disciples, who came to ask him whether he were the Christ, Go and show John again those things which ye do hear and see. The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the. deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the Go spel preached unto them. Add to, this, that of . all miraculous, wqrks, those by which miserable men receive health and strength are best adapted r to conciliate their affections, tp excite their gra titude, and to secure, theft obedience. Many there were who were thus benefited, by Christ; and -it is hardly to be supposed tha£ these persons could sUg-htand disregard him, and, much less that they could join with his enemies, his 254 SERMON XX* accusers, and his murderers. When Our Lord was de livered up to death, it was at the time of the Passover, when the Jews used to assemble even from remote places to the festival. And it may be supposed that these igno-^ rant people, who knew little concerning Christ, might be influenced by the rulers, the priests, the Pharisees and* their disciples, and made no small part of the clamorous multitude which combined against him. But they who had experienced his goodness, and been healed by him, did in all probability join with his disciples after his resur rection. Thus did our Saviour bestow, even temporal as well as spiritual blessings upon the multitudes. But these tem poral blessings were confined to the healing of sicknesses and infirmities. He did not deliver them from their Ro man rulers, nor restore to them their lost liberties ; he did not give them fruitful harvests, and increase of goods,1 and security from dangers, and wealth and plenty ; he did not cure them of their poverty. If any of them had asked for favours of this kind, he would have rejected such petitioners with disdain, and have told them, as he did upon a like occasion, that the life of man consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possessed^ If he twice fed them in a miraculous manner, it was done to reward their labour and diligence in coming to him from far to receive his instructions, and to keep them from being faint and sick in their way home. The woman who sought Jesus Christ, when he was in Tyre and SidoU, was one of the Canaanites, the remains of those ancient inhabitants whom God com manded Joshua to extirpate, on account of their enormous wickedness. Yet God thought proper to leave' upon the frontiers of the land of Israel some of those Pagan enemies", to exercise the courage or the patience of' his people, and to correct them from time to time, when they forsook SERMON XX. 255 his laws and adopted the vices and idolatries- of their neighbours. Tyre and Sidon, those neighbouring cities, remained unconquered by the Jews ; for they were maritime citjes, which could assist each -other by sea, where they were powerful, and where the Jews could not follow them, be ing strangers to navigation, and having no fleets. Idolatry had not ceased, and the knowledge of the true God had not prevailed amongst them in the time of Christ ; or if superstition, had suffered a decrease, it was probably due to an increase of irreligion and Epicurean atheism, which had made a great progress in the Roman empire. Who could have imagined that this woman of Canaan, a stranger to the divine covenant and the promises, an alien, a Pagan, should have had more faith than the chil dren of Abraham, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the doc tors of the law, the priests who were constantly employed in the service of God in the temple ?i ,; It hath been imagined that she was already one of those proselytes to the Jewish religion, who are mentioned both in the Scriptures, and in other ancient writiers. Our Saviour observes concerning the Pharisees, that they were very diligent in that way, and even compassed sea and land to make a proselyte. But we must not conclude from these words, that they travelled abroad in foreign countries, as missionaries, to convert the Pagans, whom they esteemed no better than dogs and swine, and whom they shunned and abhorred as unclean persons. The testimony of Christ only shows that the Pharisees in Ju daea were full of active zeal, and were assiduous in their endeavours to draw over proselytes from other Jewish sects, and from such strangers as might sojourn in the land.; The conversion of Pagans was rather to be ascribed to those Jews who were, settled in Italy and in other Pagan 256 SERMON XX. countries, and who consequently . conversed, somewhat more freely with the Gentiles. , Upon the whole,,the knowledge ofthe true God seem- ed to be but little extended beyond the narrow bounds" of Judaea. The Jews were favoured with a divine revela tion, and the world lay in darkness and the shadow/of death. This woman of Canaan implored the assistance.of Christ in behalf of her daughter, who was tormented with an evil spirit ; and was of opinion that the malady could only be removed by him. She addressed herself neither tojthe physicians, nor to the magicians of her own country, but to Christ ; and she testifies her faith by saying to him, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David. It hath been supposed by some that this Canaanite was suddenly and wonderfully enlightened in the faith, and looked uport Christ as upon a divine person, sent down from heaven for the benefit of mankind; and also that she was one of. those proselytes who had learned to wor ship the one God, and who afterwards embraced Chris tianity. But the silence of the Gospel as to any such ex traordinary illuminations bestowed upon her, and the first reply of Christ to her, that it was not meet to give the children's bread to the dogs, seem not to agree with this notion. She dwelt upon the frontiers of the holy land, not be yond two or three days journey from Jerusalem : and though the doctrine of Christ had scarcely reached the Tyre and Sidon, yet the fame of his miracjes musi nave oeen. spread amongst the neighbouring na tions, and have excited the curiosity and the inquiries of the people ; and amongst those miracles, that of casting out evil spirits was remarkable. The unbelieving Jews did not deny the reality of those wonderful works, but SERMON XX. 257 labouring under prejudices and false notions, they allowed not the miracles of Christ to be sufficient proofs of his divine mission, but ascribed them to other causes, and had objections to his person and to his conduct. Commerce with the neighbouring nations must have beeri common 'at atime when both Judaea. and Syrophceni'cia obeyed the Roman government. This woman, therefore, by conver sation with Jews and with her own citizens, might have learned that in those days an illustrious prophet and prince (was expected to arise in Judaea, and that this hero should 1 descend from the house of David. Many wereof opinion that Jesus was that promised deliverer; and therefore she I gives him, as they did, the title of Son of David. So the two blind men, who begged to recover their sight, . called him Son of David ; arid the multitudes, who: at tended him when he entered into Jerusalem, cried, Ho- sannah to the Son of David. She knew that Jesus had supported his claim by miracles so public, so numerous, and so eminent, that he was considered as a man above the ordinary condition of men, and therefore she calls him Lord. Convinced of his power and goodness, she begs to partake of it by the deliverance of her daughter. We must not imagine her knowledge to have been ex tended beyond this, nor have recourse to miraculous in spirations, to make her more enlightened than even those Jews who followed Christ as a teacher sent from God.- She made her request ; and Jesus held his peace., His ! design, as the sequel showed, was to prove her faith, and to try her patience. A severe trial it was, whichmight have quite discouraged a person of less constancy and per severance. Her faith was in its infancy, and not strength ened by habit ; it was founded on the testimony of those who had made favourable reports ofthe power and good ness of Jesus ; and instead of finding the effects of his compassion, a "Cold reserve and silence foreboded *re- Vol. IH: S 258, SERMON XX. fusal. The disciples who accompanied their master seem to have had -pity of her, and to have indirectly requested of him to assist her, But he answered them, in her hear ing, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. ; The Jews had in their possession the oracles of: God, and the instructions of the prophets ; they were a nation considerable and numerous, who constantly repaired, to the temple of God, and practised at least all the externals of religion. Yet Christ represents even them,' or a great part of them, as so many lost sheep, wandering without a guide, and in a dangerous condition. The Jewish church was then the only true one, and yet it was a cor rupted church, defiled with human traditions, and. gross' superstitions. Ceremonies were to supply the want of morality, and works of righteousness, were neglected, with out which no professions of faith can recommend-, any be lievers to the favour of God. This woman who addressed herself, to Christ was a Gentile ; and Christ at first seemed to reject her, purely as being such. The calling of the Gentiles had been fore-, told by the prophets ; but Christ, as the faithful son and, servant of his heavenly Father, had always his Father's; will and- commands before his eyes. The Gentiles were to be called at the appointed season ; but as yet the time when they who sat in darkness and in the shadow of' death should see this great light was. not come. The promises of God and. the ministry of the Messias respected the Jews in the first place, and the pre- ranted to them. The Pagans were not, to be invited to those spiritual benefits, till the Jews had re-( jected them; and the long-suffering of God waited till they had filled up the measure of their iniquities by mur dering the Lord of lifcand persecutinghis servants, before lie ;Called',a;pfople, who, were nothis people, as the pro- SERMON XX. 259 phets speak, and a nation which in his sight was not a nation. In the mean time his compassion was In a man ner confined to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. This was a second trial and a new subject of despond* ence for this Canaanite. She had cried, and Christ had held his peace : the disciples had interposed in her behalf, and had not prevailed. The answer of Christ had show ed that she ought not to expect miraculous favours ; It is not to you Pagans and idolaters that I am sent ; I am sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Yet instead of desisting from her attempt, she ap proaches, and falls at the feet of Jesus, and worships hirh, and says, Help me, O Lord. - '---"'" Here again, it hath been supposed that she worshipped him as a divine person : but this is not to be collected from that word, which so often means civil and not re ligious worship, and that sort of reverence which was given to princes and to prophets. Christ replied, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to give it to the dogs. This was an oblique intima tion that the Pagans compared with the Jews were of no more esteem than the dogs compared with the children of the family. If this be so, what an amazing difference is here made between the posterity of Adam ! A small number of them are the children of God, and the rest are the hopeless and forlorn children of nature and necessity, for whom their Maker hath no regard. A difficulty there appears to be in this conduct of Pro vidence, that God should have neglected those numerous nations of the universe, and left them without promises, without oracles, without laws, plunged in the grossest ignorance and idolatry. : If religious knowledge had been dispersed, in some measure, over thd face of the earth, more fully in one S 2 260 SERMON XX. regipn, more imperfectly in another, this migh£ have beeR ascribed, to the different reception which men gave to the truths propounded to them. If religion had been making a progress from nation to nation, which hath been the case of the Gospel, whose divine author, that sun of righte ousness, arose in the east and proceeded to the west; if there had been from age to age periodical revolutions which had changed the false worship of idolatrous nations; if God, to dissipate their ignorance, had sent them an Abraham, a Moses, an Elias, to reform their corrupted worship, the different moral state of mankind might have been ascribed to the honest dispositions or to the ingra titude and depravity of men. But that all nations shotild have been regarded as brute beasts, whilst, the people of Israel alone enjoyed the privileges of a covenant with God, and were considered as the only children of the Most High for so great a number of ages, this seems unaccount able, and quite perplexes our reason. It is no wonder that God should have rejected the Jews after they had rejected his Son, and put him to death, and imprecated divine vengeance upon themselves and theft children. But before this unparalleled, crime many ages had passed away, during which this people had rendered themselves unworthy of the favours conferred upon the,m. They had been disobedient from their very deliverance out of i£gypt ; and when. Christ appeared, their religion was buried under a load of human inventions and accu^ mulated superstitions which had rendered it of little effect. Whv did God for so long a space prefer this ungrateful 5 nation to their neighbours the Phoenicians, a polished people, the inventers and improvers of arts and sciences, and the spreaders of them by navigation, by commerce, by planting of colonies in distant regions,? ir , Why should God confine his name and fiis .worship in the narrow bounds of.Judsea, s& that it should be a sort SERMON XX, 261 of presumption and an irregular proceeding to make it pass1 over to the quarters of Tyre and Sidon ? If you ex cept the prophet Jonas, who was sent to preach repent ance to the Ninevites, and Elias who sojourned with a wi dow of Sarepta, the other prophets did not use to travel in Pagan countries, to convert the inhabitants. Thus did God permit only one nation to enjoy the title and privi lege of children; -the rest were left as dogs, not worthy to eat the bread of life. The time it will be said was not come. But that time should it not have been from the beginning, without exceptions and limitations ? Many there are, and there have been, who hold the doctrine of absolute and unconditional decrees of predesti nation and reprobation, of an irresistible depravity in the children of men, which nothing can cure but an irresistible grace ; that this grace is extended to very few, whilst all the rest are doomed to eternal destruction even before they are born. These persons, if they have any feelings, must feel the difficulties which press hard upon such a rigid system. And what is their reply ? It is, that these are mysteries impenetrable by the human understanding, that the ways of God are unsearchable, and that his judge?- ments are not to be explained, but only to be adored in a religious silence ; in a word, that reason hath nothing to do in these deep things of God. " This looks like modest humility; but it looks like giving up the defence of Providence, and leaving impiety to enjoy her insulting triumphs. True it is that the ways of God are unsearchable, as to matters of mere favour ; but not as to matters of justice and equity. And therefore in opposition to this uncom fortable system we have a few plain texts of Scripture to allege, which, with the consequences as plainly result ing from them, will suffice to justify the conduct of Pro vidence. 262 SERMON XX: The first which I shall produce is taken from the 'Old Testament, from one of the Psalms : The Lord is good to all ; and his tender mercies are over all his Works. What right have we to limit these words, which exclude none from being objects of this divine goodness ? To con fine the word all to the children of Abraham, to a few chosen persons, is a comment "which common- sense rejects. Another text is contained in the words of our Lord; Unto whomsoever much is given, of him much shall be required. Hence it follows, that to whomsoever little is given, of him little shall be required ; and so Christ him self declares in the same place. If it be asked why much is given to one and little to another, this must be resolved into the good pleasure of God, who is Lord of his own gifts. But that every one shall be treated according to the use which he hath' made of that much or of that little, this is the everlasting law of equity. Another text is from the Acts of the Apostles; God is no respecter of persons, This declaration is to be found both in the Old and in the New Testament, and it is too clear to require a comment. Only it may be observed as a just consequence, that every person hath it in his posver to perform as much as his Maker will require from him. Another text is in St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans ; When the Gentiles who have not the Law do by nature the things of the Law, these not having the Law are a law unto themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing wit- x thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. Hence we see that man who hath the use of reason, hath the capacity of discerning his duty, and of distinguishing between virtue and vice ; that if he hath not the light of revelation, he hath the light of na ture for his guide ; and that, in fact, amongst these Gen tiles there were those who performed commendable ac- SERMON XX> 263 tions, and had the approbation of their conscience, and others who were wicked and self-condemned. The last declaration of Scripture which I shall mention, is contained in the doctrine of universal redemption, as serted in those numerous passages which say that Christ died for all, for all and for every one ; and effectually for all those who should make a right use of their knowledge and abilities. This, it will be said, puts the Pagans in as good a si tuation as the Christians. But this we deny ; for although God will have mercy upon such well-disposed persons, it follows not that they shall have the same recompense which Christ hath promised to his servants, who kriow his will, and do his will, and many of whom have suffer ed for his sake. A future state of recompense at large, and in general, is different from that state of happiness in the kingdom of heaven which is promised to those who believe and obey the Gospel. -( 264 ) .SERMON XXL Proverbs xiii. 20. He that wdlketh with wise men, shall be wise. JL HE main design of Solomon in this useful, book is to recommend wisdom, both as to things temporal and spi ritual, to point out the advantages arising, from it, and to show the methods to obtain it; amongst which me thods that in the text is one : He that walketh with, wise men shall be wise. ,; Which leads us to inquire, I. What is meant by walking with the wise : . , II. How it conduces to the attainment of wisdom. .1. To walk with the wise is a precept which may fairly admit two senses, though Solomon hath only in viewi t\at which I shall mention last. i First, it may mean, To, converse with the writings of the wise, which may be called, To keep company with good books. Secondly, it certainly means, To choose wise persons for our companions, and to lose no opportunity of recsnv ing their advice and instruction. 'o directions, the former chiefly concerns „..*,Vv «.>*" x^,e had a liberal education, and take a plea-i- sure in reading ; the latter concerns all persons alike. < ¦ As to the former; Books may be compared to a very disadvantageous lottery, in which you may draw ,- a hundred that are bad to one that is good ; and therefore care and prudence are requisite, that we may neither take- SERMON XXI. 265 in hand those which tend to weaken our faith and spoil our morals, nor those of the trifling kind from which no thing at all can-be learned ; for time is too precious to be thus thrown away, especially as so much of it slips from, us byivarious unavoidable interruptions. Amongst the books which require our perusal, I need only just mention the holy Scriptures. To make them our constant companions is a duty of which no sincere Christian can possiblyKdoubf.; ' After these there are books, either of religion and mo rality, or -of useful knowledge, or of innocent and ra tional entertainment. They who have not skill to make a proper choice of them, should consult those who can give them information. This is one of the advantages arising- from "civil society, that there are always persons to be found who will not refuse to advise the unskilful in these and in other points. On the contrary, the books to be shunned are, first, the atheistical, deistical, irreligious, and profane ; which are indeed only fit for the examination of those who have learning, ' capacity, and inclination to confute them, or who are in no danger of receiving ill impressions from them. They who have not judgement and knowledge enough for these purposes, ought to avoid the perusal of them, lest they should be perplexed, ensnared, and se-- duced ; which hath been the unhappy case of many per sons. In vain do we pray to God not to lead us into temptation, if we lead ourselves into it. ,' The next class of bad authors, who are far more per nicious than the former, because they accommodate them selves to all capacities, which the others seldbm do^ are the dissolute and the debauched, who having' lost all sense of decency and virtue, employ their abilities, such as they are, to poison the minds and inflame the passions .of others. Such writers being past all grace and shame are much fitter to receive correction frqm the civil ma- 266 SERMON/ XXI. gistrate, than admonition from others ; and it would be well for society, if such writings were effectually sup pressed and destroyed. But as this is rather to be wished than to be expected, it is the clear and indispensable duty of Christians to abhor such detestable performances, and never to give them a perusal. Another set of writers, who in a different way are no less dangerous than the former, are the fanatical and en- thusiastical, who ought to be avoided- by those that are willing to preserve the peace of their mind, and the right use of their reason, unless they be wise and learned enough to see through the ignorance, emptiness, craziness, and folly of such flimsy performances. Enthusiasts have usually a 'melancholy disposition, a -heated imagination, and a total want of judgement ; and their writings are calculated to affect those readers, who with a sober and serious turn of mind have the same strength of fancy, and the same weakness of intellects. Amongst these writers, who are fanatics in reality, some are always to be found who are so in appearance only, who are mere hypocrites, and put a godly outside Upon a knavish inside. The writings of the former and ctf the latter are equally pernicious. What we have said of bad books holds true in the same manner of bad men, whose acquaintance should be care- folly avoided. And now I proceed, to the duty recommended to us in the text, to choose wise persons for our friends and ac- nd to lose no opportunity of receiving' their advice ana instruction. But here some exceptions and limitations are to be made to this general , rule. We can only follow it as far as we are able, as far as times and circumstances permit. a Providence may appoint a good man's station amongst a Some of the following remarks are taken from a discourse of Abernethy. SERMON XXI. 267 sinners, either for a trial of his integrity, or to give him opportunity to use his best endeavours to. reclaim them. This was the case of Noah, and this was the case of Lot. It was no fault in these and in some other excellent, per sons that they did not walk with wise men, when no wise men were to be found. They did their office and duty by representing to the wicked their folly and their ap proaching destruction, and though they could not save them, they saved themselves, and their own small fami lies, by their wisdom. Thus our Saviour himself conversed with persons un- 4ike himself, he who was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners ; and thus his apostles laboured in cessantly in the instruction and conversion of an ignorant -and debauched world, and instead of being themselves ¦infected with the folly and vice of those with whom they had intercourse, they were the happy instruments of making many of them wise, and turning them from sin to righte ousness. They who are well, says our Lord, justifying his own condescending, behaviour, they who are well need not the physician, but they who are sick. But besides the noble design to attempt by counsel and example to reclaim sinners, a design which the Scrip tures are so far from disallowing, that they earnestly re commend it, besides this, the state of human affairs re quires that on various occasions we associate with, persons pf>all characters. Civil communities, so absolutely ne cessary for mankind, are composed of good and bad, in such a variety of degrees, that there are few good with out some bad qualities, and few bad without some good .ones. Both are necessary for the purposes of order, go vernment, commerce, and mutual help, though it be certain that, the wise are the most useful members of the state, in proportion to their wisdom and virtue. Indeed in the nearer and the domestic relations, it is "26S SERMON XXI. the unhappy lot of many, not to be free from the com pany of fools. The prudent, the goodhatured, and the •virtuous are not seldom connected with the indiscreet, the froWard, and the vicious. And in these cases it is not our duty to break asunder the bonds of blood or of- af finity, and violently to separate ourselves from our own -family. On the contrary, instruction, patience, meek ness, and compassionis our bounden duty towards them. The apostle, it is true, adviseth Christians to avoid the company of those who calling themselves brethren in the faith, and believers, behaved like Pagans, and worse than Pagans. The meaning of which advice is, that we should contract no intimacies and hold no communication with ihem, when nothing requires it, and no good purpose .can be served by it. But as to the common offices sot hu manity and charity, and as to civil intercourse in the af fairs of life, we must have dealings with persons of all characters; else, says the same apostle, we must needs go out of the world. Therefore the precept, To walk with the wise, is voluntarily to associate, and of deliberate choice to enter into intimacies and friendship with them. Men are disposed to seek society, and to form acquaint ances, larger or lesser, for their worldly concerns, and for their mutual satisfaction and entertainment. Persons of all capacities and conditions show a desire of conversa tion, though of very different kinds, according to the di versity of tastes, occasioned by natural or acquired abili ties, education, prevailing affections, temporal or rehV situation, - and circumstances. There' are ..... ...west station and of the lowest understand ing, who do not incline to company of some sort or other; there are none of the most solitary, retired, studious, and contemplative disposition, who ; do not at certain times stand in need of conversation, both for improvement and relaxation; there are none^ howsoever proud, conceited, SERMON XXI. 269 and self-sufficient, who are not driven by the same pro pensity to descend from their heights of arrogance and vanity, and to enter into a condescending and easy commu nication with others, and who find not themselves neces sitated to be outwardly courteous even to those whom they inwardly despise. This general inclination, or instinct, as we may call it, operates freely and variously, and for the most part it induces men to seek those who are of a like character and disposition with themselves. The sensual and voluptu ous, the gay and polite, the curious and inquisitive, the men of taste for arts and sciences, the men of business, the men of rank and quality, the learned and studious, seek out one another, and take a pleasure in conversing together. They therefore who love and value wisdom will seek the company and intimacy of the wise, for their benefit and moral improvement ; which should be the end and design of such connexions. . Indeed you shall find men who have the character of being good and wise, and yet depart somewhat from it, especially in conversation, and will discourse, never in deed viciously, but often as triflingly, and as little to the purpose as the weakest of mankind. But so far they do not walk as wise men, but as foolish men. And yet it must be allowed that the strictest- wisdom and virtue may admit some conversation with some people about indif ferent and even insignificant subjects, and much more about worldly affairs; But the text chiefly implies that wisdom and virtue should be the principal object and the main design of men's social connexions ; and that in our voluntary as sociations, even for the purposes, of this life, our choice should be determined wkh a regard to virtue, and such persons- taken 'into our company as are wise, ac i&Wb -na- 270 SERMON XXI,- tural ties and unavoidable circumstances will allow. So lomon himself, who is our instructor ifl this point, seems to have been one of those who could give good advice better than follow it ; and by his own domestic con nexions and affinities was drawn away from the paths of wisdom to those of folly. His royal father was Wiser than he, if he kept constantly to the prudent resolution which he made in one of his psalms ; A fro ward heart shall de part from me ; I will not know a wicked person : mine eyes shall be upon the faithful ofthe land, that they may dwell with me. Thus far I have endeavoured to show what it is to walk with wise men. II. I shall now, secondly, consider the influence and efficacy which such conduct hath towards the attainment of wisdom. Conversation hath a considerable share in forming' the- tempers and manners of men. Their behaviour, their speech, their sentiments, their likings, their aversions, their taste, depend much on the company which they keep; their moral and religious dispositions are frequently formed by it. I say not that this is the necessary and uni versal effect of such associations. Some are so obstinately and inflexibly wicked, as to defeat the efficacy of the best conversation and example, as well as all other means of reforming them ; and some illustrious instances there are of virtuous tempers resisting the strongest temptations, and maintaining an unspotted innocence amidst the in- fo^t^n r.f tho vilest company, and the prevalent corrup- 3rst of times and places. But generally speaking, it is not so ; and that sufficeth for our present purpose, which is to show that to walk with the wise is the way to obtain wisdom, and to walk with the wicked is to tread the paths that lead to destruction. The remarkable influence which the behaviour and dis-< SERMON XXI. 271 course of Cithers hath upon us, may be ascribed to two causes ; first, to a desire of being agreeable to those with whom we are familiar ; and secondly, to the force of ex ample. Many things we do continually, to please others, and to gain or keep their good will and esteem. This desire operates strongly upon us, even when we do not discern it. In the modes of living, and the outward deportment, which take up so much of our thoughts and time, the principal view seems to be a conformity to custom or fashion, to which indeed we are apt to pay too much de ference. The desire of being esteemed is planted in human na ture for excellent purposes, and, if duly regulated, is very useful to direct and confirm us in the- practice of all the ¦social virtues. This desire of approbation ariseth much higher in serious and pious minds, and hath for its princi pal object the favour of Him who seeth all our ways, and knoweth all the secrets of our hearts. To have him ha bitually in view is what the Scriptures call walking with God, and before God, and what they represent as the sublimest accomplishment of human nature. But as the same desire of being loved, honoured, and esteemed^ leads us to recommend ourselves to men also, with whom we are conversant, and in whose neighbourhood or pre sence we dwell, their affections, conduct, and characters will have a considerable influence in forming ours, either for the better, or for the worse. The choice therefore which we make of our more intimate companions, to Whose observation we. lay ourselves the more open, as they; also to ours, will contribute .much to forming our inclinations, and influencing our behaviour. And as to the effects of example, we all know how prone human nature is to imitation, how early it exerts itself, and, anticipates reason and reflection, and .how 272 SERMON XXI. constantly it continues to operate in us; and therefore good examples are proposed to us in the Scriptures, as helps and inducements to the practice of religion. Let us consult experience, and we shall see the force of it in ¦others, and feel it in ourselves. The things which were once indifferent to us, or from which we were averse, or which we imagined to be scarcely practicable, insensibly excite in us a disposition to do them ourselves, when we often behold them done before our eyes. And as to vir tue in particular, which in its own nature is attractive, virtuous examples first render it familiar to us, and then render it amiable, by setting it before us in a lively and affecting manner. A good picture, or a good statue, strikes the mind with greater force, and gives it a more lively, idea of any object, than the most laboured and ac curate description in words can produce. In like manner,- to represent morality and piety by precepts doth not ex cite the affections so powerfully as to see it delineated and exemplified in life. This is clothing an invisible spirit in a visible form. The beauty indeed and the dignity of holiness, as described by good writers, particularly by the sacred writers, strikes every thoughtful and serious mind,' and powerfully excites its desires. But then in the present imperfection of human nature, andamidst the contest of contrary inclinations, and the assaults of temp tations surrounding us on every side, there is one strong 1 prejudice against virtue held forth to us by description, that it seems very difficult to be practised. This preju- A;"° ;" k"^ amoved by example. Example will convince not a lovely phantom, a child of fancy and speculation, but that there is a reality in it, and that it is practicable in humari life. The example of God is constantly proposed to us in "the Scriptures as the most unexceptionably worthy of out imitation. Be., ye holy, says God, as- 1 am holy. Bey* SERMON XXI. 273 .perfect, says our Lord, as your heavenly Father is,per- fect. But God being no object of our senses, and to be -apprehended only by our understanding, the Scripture , hath- added to it, and bath , recommended to us another object which is more familiar, and approaching nearer tp .Qurease, even Jesus Christ, the visible image of the in visible. God, showing , us an accomplished virtue in a -human form and nature, and- the amiable and imitable qualities of industry, condescension, humility, meekness, patience, courage, resignation, and, charity under the ¦greatest trials and the heaviest sufferings. But here again there is a sort of plea- and excuse for our falling so< very short of so perfect a pattern, since we have many defects, many frailties, many irregular desires, many turbulent passions, from which the Son of God was free. To- re move therefore all exceptions of tins sort, and all pre tences of. inability to discharge our obligations, we have the rules of morality and of righteousness reduced to prac tice at men who. were nothing more than mem Though their example is far short of perfection, yet it is Worthy of our emulation and imitation, -and' a Sensible reproach of our failings-. History sacred and secular shows us men naturally as weak as we are, liable to: the- same tempta tions of vanity, conceit, pride, sensual affections,, fear,' wrath, envy, and' malice, yet conquering these- foes to their salvation. They had as quick a sense of pleasure and pafti, of love and aversion, of profit and loss, of plenty and poverty, of honour arid- dishonour, as we ; and yet they overcame the- world by their faith, and by the' influence of Christianity upon- their minds. They had indeed the divine assistance to strengthen- their infirmity ; and so may we, if we seek it- as they did.- - It is likewise to be observed,- that the- nearer the ex ample is, the more force it acquires. Thedistant reports Vol. III. T 274 SERMON XXI. of confessors and martyrs, of lovers of their country, and friends to mankind, of men Who did and suffered much either for the sake of religion or for the benefit of so ciety ; these examples recorded in history, being remote from us, affect us not so sensibly as the instances of piety and virtue, of courage and constancy, in our own times, and amongst our own acquaintances. , The, practice of good persons, with, whom we are connected, either si lently reproves us for our faults, or encourages us to well doing ; theft lives as Well as their instructions admonish us in a friendly and familiar manner to. walk circumspect ly and honourably, to be blameless and harmless amidst a perverse generation- On the other hand, the pernicious effect of walking with fools is no less manifest. Their evil discourses and their evil deeds, persuade the careless and unattentiye companions, that virtue is. only an empty shadow, for the sake of which, the substantial, enjoyments of sensuality are not to her given up. Many there are who by a good education and a good temper have at first honest sentiments and: commendable inclinations, - who start at evil actions, and are afraid to venture upon them, and yet seeing the corrupt practices of theft associates, overcome these bashful, fears, and at last get the impious courage tp commit the vilest iniquity. A few reflections may be added, which the, subject suggests. First, The wise and virtuous are a great blessing tp the world, although they.be' often little esteemed and. re garded by it. It is. for theft sakes that Providence wi,^ Tering spares the wicked with whom, they are joined ha society. It is by their behaviour that some religion and morality is kept up, and- some check put to encroaching vice. When such persons are honoured, rewarded,, and prompted, the good effects of it are fell SERMON XXI. 275 through the whole community. But when the wicked are exalted and bear rule, the infection spreads apace, and ruin follows close behind it. Secondly, The wicked are not only good for nothing, which would be bad enough, but mischievous beyond expression. He is a public nuisance, who by an open profligacy debauches as far as he can all who are within its influence. The more eminent his station is, the more pernicious he grows. His outward appearance dazzles the eyes of fools ; but stripped of his false ornaments, he is a most despicable creature. This may be applied to those of rower rank, whose evil* example operates in a smaller circle, in their own families and their neighbour hood ; who, instead of making their children and their domestics useful to themselves and to others, perform the unnatural office of tempters and devils, to drive them headlong to perdition. Lastly, We ought to be very careful in the choice of our companions. I was going to say, of oar friends. But friendship, a thing much talked of, is so very seldom to be found in an eminent degree, that is is hardly worth while to give any directions about it. There is however a lower sort of friendship which is common enough, an intimacy between persons who have a just esteem and respect for each other, and ari intercourse of free conver sation and of good offices. This sort of friendship, founded in wisdom and pruderice, and mutually improved to" rational, moral, arid religious purposes, is a blessing much to be desired, and carefully to be preserved', and one ofthe truest pleasures that this world affords. T 2 ( ' 276 ) SERMON XXIL Proverbs i. 1, 2. The proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel ; To know zvisdom and instructibn. ¦ J. HIS book is entitled, The Proverbs'1: but what we call proverbs, properly and strictly speaking, are of a different nature ; and most of Solomon's proverbs are rather to be called maxims, or sentences. A proverb is a short moral sentence which means something else ' than what the words naturally and literally imply ; that is to say, it must be expressed; in a figurative manner. When Solomon says, Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not to thine own understanding, this is no proverb, but a moral sentence. When he says, Drink waters out of thine own cistern, this is a proverb, and it means, Be content with thine own property, and med dle not with that which belongs to another. These proverbs of Solomon are a collection of wise and moral sayings, usually plain and concise ; .they -are also of the poetical kind, and fall into metre, and therefore were the more easily learned and remembered by those :~-.„u — '-.nguage they were written. They have not martness, ,and vivacity, and wit, which mo dern writers have usually affected in their maxims and a Though this be not a large treatise, yet the same precepts are frequently repeated j which makes it probable that it is a compila tion of the moral sayings of other wise men, besides those of Sola- tnon. SERMON XXII.. 277 sentences ; but they have what is better, truth and solid- good sense. No one .subject is long pursued in this treatise of Solo-' raon, nor is there any coherence and connexion between its parts. The nature of this sort of writing doth not admit it. But though the composition be of the dis jointed kind, yet there is a general design running through the whole, which the author keeps always in view, and that is, to instruct the people, and particularly young people, at their entrance into public and active life, to give them an early love and an earnest desire of real wis dom, and to lay down such clear rules for their beha viour, as shall carry them through the world with peace and credit. There are two treatises ofthe same kind, amongst the apocryphal books in our Bible, which are of no sacred authority. One is Ecclesiasticus, which contains many prudentand wise instructions. The other is The Wisdom of Solomon, written by one who falsely pretends to be Solomon, and speaks in his name ; and so deserves the less regard, for assuming a character which belongs not to him. As to the authority of the Book of Proverbs, you may observe that the Old Testament contains the law of Moses, the prophets, the psalmists, and the historians. But under none of these classes can Solomon properly be placed. He is the first author, that we know of, who may be called a moralist ; and as such he appears in the Book of Proverbs, as also in his Ecclesiastesb. He says nothing, or very little, concerning the law of Moses ; he leaves the explaining or enforcing it to. the prophets. b As to his Song, many commentaries and discourses have been' written upon it by the ancient fathers and by modern divines, which. have not made it one jot clearer than it was before. Their allegorical, mystical, and spiritual interpretations are arbitrary, unsupported, an4 27S SERMON XXII. the priests, and the Levites. He says little about revealed religion, but rather confines himself to natural religion, or morality. He hath no claim that we can see to the title of a prophet ; he discourses not in their style and man ner ; he says not, ' The word of the Lord came tome,' and, ' Thus saith the Lord;' he foretold no future events, and he wrought no miracles. He delivers no precepts, but such as a wise man might discern by the strength of his own reason. But as we find in Scripture that God had endowed him with uncommon natural abilities, and with singular ad vantages and opportunities to improve them, and had also promised to bestow wisdom upon him, it is reason able to suppose that in the works which he composed for the perpetual use of God's people, the divine spirit so far assisted him as though not to reveal or suggest any thing to him, yet to guard and prevent him from delivering any false notions of morality and religion. This sufficefh to establish his authority as a sacred writer, and this book of his was ever held in high es teem by the Jews, and admitted into their canon of the Scriptures. There are also sofne allusions to it in the New Testament which conduce to recommend and con firm it. It is indeed a book which will stand the test of the severest inquiry, and you shall not find any precept in it against which any just objection can be offered. Solomon in wisdom and knowledge surpassed all his contemporaries; he was a poet, a natural and experi- ' ' " sopher, and a political andmoral philosopher. ^ xv ~^ „Jsed whether Solomon, the great and wise Solomon, practised himself all the excellent rules which the mere effusions of a fertile imagination. It is a short and elegant poem, in which the name of God is not once mentioned, in which not one religious or moral duty is recommended, and which is never cited by qur Saviour, or by any writer of the New Testament. ' SERMON XXII.- 279 he gave to his people, the answer must be, that he did notb. He violated the laws of Moses, as perhaps in other points'1, so particularly in taking Pagan arid ido latrous wives and concubines, the numberc of whom also was highly scandalous and immoral. And when he grew old, these women seduced him so far as to persuade him to. set up the worship of their false gods in his dominions. Thus he acted in all probability to indulge and humour those women, against his own judgement ; for, if he had himself worshipped their idols, he must have doted, and have lost all common sense. • For these transgressions God punished him, and raised him up enemies to disquiet him at the latter end of his reign ; and when he died, he left behind him a discon tented people, and a foolish son and successor, who soofi lost more than half of the kingdom. One would think it impossible that Solomon could ever have committed such errors and such crimes. He had received his crown directly from the hand of God, who had preferred him, though a younger son, and had set aside his elder brother; he had been favoured with divine revelations ; he had been appointed to build a magnificent temple for the service of God ; he had received promises of wisdom, knowledge, wealth, glory, peace, power, pro- c His father David is called the man after God's own hearth not so much, I shoL'.ld think, for his personal as for his princely virtues, for his zeal to establish and preserve tile Worship of God, and to suf fer-no idolatrous practices and Pagan superstitions to be allowed in liis dominions. Consider David as king over a people, to whom God had promised prosperity if they obeyed hirri; and threatened punish ments if they forsook him 5 and in that point of view he appears to great advantage, and was an excellent ruler. During his reign the nation Was successful and victorious, great and powerful But after; wards, under the succeeding kings of Israel and Judah, idolatry came in, and drew after it every disaster and calamity. ^ Josephus is of opinion that his making the" brazen oxen in the temple, and the lions for his throne, were a transgression of the Law, e A thousand. ... 280 SERMON XXII. sperity, and every temporal blessing, and these promises had been signally accomplished. How could such a prince shut his eyes against such evidence! How could- he be guilty of such monstrous forgetfulness and ingraft. tude! Why, indeed, it is often seen that the follies of men of uncommon parts and penetration are worse than those of men of mean abilities and low capacities ; as if such geniuses were doomed to surpass other people both ways; and Solomon stands a most memorable example of great accomplishments and great frailties, and of the dangerous effects of too much power and prosperity. But as he had been once so highly in the favour of God, one would willingly suppose that the holy. Spirit did not eritirely and finally forsake him, and that he re turned to his duty ; according to the Jewish tradition, that he lived to be sensible of his faults, and in his old days wrote his Ecclcsiastesf, to testify his repentance;, and to warn others that all is vanity and vexation of spirit, except the fear of God and the keeping of his command ments. Hence we may observe that the brightest accomplish. ments of the mind, and even the extraordinary gifts of the holy Spirit, are no sure tokens of a man's virtue. It is true that usually, under the Law, the prophets and inspired teachers of God's people were men of probity "and piety ; which indeed was necessary to give the more weight and regard to their precepts, and to secure to them the veneration of the public. Yet the divine Spirit rniedit fall nnon less worthy men, and of an exceptionable d they might be employed in such sacred offices. Likewise under the Gospel, the disciples of f The Scripture says that Solomon came young to the throne, and reigned forty years ; so that he must have died at about sixty. Jo sephus says" that he reigned eighty years, and died at the age of ninety- four. ' Of these two computations the first seems to be too short, and the second too long.' ; . SERMON XXII. . 281 Christ were sincere and honest men, qualifications which indeed were necessary for the advancement of religion ; yet we know, one traitor and apostate was admitted among them, and had the same miraculous powers for a time; and afterwards, in the primitive church, the extraordi nary gifts of the Spirit were conferred sometimes upon some who did not make the best use of them, and were not themselves the wiser for them. For which reason St. Paul prefers by far the moral virtues and the Christian graces in general, and charity or benevolence in particu lar, to all natural or preternatural gifts, as more valuable to the possessor, and placing him much higher in the fa vour of God. ' If therefore at any time the word of God be dispensed to us by persons whose lives are not suitable to their func tion, our Saviour hath given us a direction for all such cases. The Scribes and Pharisees, says he, sit in the seat of Moses, and are your publicly appointed teachers. What therefore they bid you observe, agreeably to the Law and the Prophets, that observe and do ; but do not after their works ; for they say and do not. As to Solomon, his faults, whatsoever they were, were to himself; they may be a warning to us, to avoid them, and they cannot hurt us if we do not imitate them : his precepts and maxims are preserved by divine Providence, for the benefit of Christians, and the good of the church in all ages. • Let us then, at certain times, bestow a careful perusal upon this Book of Proverbs. It is short, and' soon read over. It will perhaps be slighted on account of its con tents, as a mere system of dry morality, by those who had rather deal in discourses of the mystic and enthu siastic kind, and admire that sort of rapturous and ec static devotion. But whether they will allow it, or no, this book contains the main parts of pure and undefiled 282 SERMON XXII. religion, and lays down the best of rules for the prudent conduct of life, and for obtaining the favour of God and the testimony of an approving con-science. ;f Solomon, to give the more weight and dignity to his, precept delivers them, not as his own, but as those ..oft Wisdom herself, and in the poetic and dramatic way in- troduces her as a divine person, the favourite, offspring and first-born of God, who dwelt with him before the foundation of heaven and earth, before time and, the world, and who is sent forth from him to guide and in? struct the children of mep. By the wisdom which Solomon exhorts us to, acquire, he means true religion and virtue, as by folly he means disobedience and vice. I shall therefore proceed to lay- before you a short and general abstract of the acts of reli gion and morality recommended by him, and I shall di vide them into positive and negative duties, what he bids and what he forbids : and then I will consider the mo-; tives by which he enforces his precepts, - He then lays the foundation of religion upon the prin- , ciple of fearing God. The fear of the Lord, says he, is the beginning of Wisdom : the fear of the Lord, that is, a; pious reverence of the supreme Being, and a disposition to conform our will to his, and a dread of offending him and incurring his displeasure. Sqlomon represents ; our; duty to God rather as the fear of God than as the love of God, which latter expression he never uses. But though love be confessedly the sublimer principle of ac- ti'nn vof- £01,. yvrith ,the bulk of mankind is the more effec- it to obedience; and when it hath once pro duced its proper effect, it will infallibly introduce, toge- ther with hope and with reliance, the love of God, of him who is the, best and the greatest. He exhorts us ,to love wisdom and to prize it above all things, as the only way and the infallible wjay to obtain. SERMON XXII. 283 it. "And this rule holds true in every useful acquisition. No one ever remarkably and eminently excelled in any art or science, or in any branch of knowledge, who had not a sort of predominant passion and enthusiastic fond ness for it. A man may pursue some studies with a view to profit, or to honoUr and reputation ; but these mo tives, strong as they are, will not carry him far, unless he loves the occupation for its own sake, and would even prefer it to profit and honour. The same temper is re quisite in moral and religious improvements, which are never very considerable, unless the bent of the affections is wholly turned that way. He exhorts us also to love wisdom betimes, and to make it the first choice, the first object of our affections. I love them that love me, says wisdom, and they that seek me early shall find me. This also holds true in every useful acquisition. Youth is the time when the founda tion of knowledge either secular or religious is to be laid, and they who begin any useful study late in life seldom become great proficients. It is observable that when such persons set up for scholars, they are perpetually making blunders, for want of the rudiments of erudition. Solomon exhorts young persons to honour and obey their parents and regard their instructions. My son, keep thy father's commandments, and forsake not the law of thy mother. He requires also of parents that they should be careful in the education of their children. He ad vises to be discreet also in the choice of friends arid ac quaintances, and to keep good company. He that walk ed! with wise men shall be wise. He exhorts to chastity* and purity, and to' be content with- such pleasures as are lawful, to be of a quiet and peaceable temper, to be gen tle, meek and humble, to be liberal and charitable, to show mercy not "Only' to our fellow-creatures, but even to the brutes, to be very active and industrious, and ever 2S4 SERMON XXII. busy in some honest occupation, to have our passions under government, to be discreet and sparing in our speech, to be strictly honest in trade, in buying and sell- ing, to speak the truth, to be patient of just reproof, and ever ready to hear and to follow wise counsel ; to have the public welfare in view and at heart, and to be useful members of society ; to be patient under afflictions, and to account them fatherly corections intended for our be nefit; to trust in God, to be obedient subjects to civil go vernment, to be long-suffering and ready to forgive inju ries, to return good for evil, and to do charitable offices to our enemies ; and when we have performed all this; to acknowledge ourselves, what we are at best, frail and imperfect creatures. Thus much for the duties required ; now let us survey the negative precepts, or the offences which are to be 'shunned. He dissuades from fornication and adultery, and upon this subject he is very copious, these being probably reigning vices in his times, as indeed they are in all times. He amply sets forth the folly, the danger, the wickedness, and the pernicious consequences of such a behaviour, of frequent ing the company of harlots and adulteresses. He calls them strange women, that is, foreigners ; for the under standing of which expression you are to observe, that as, by the Law of Moses, no Israelitish woman was per mitted to profess the trade of a harlot, the practice-was chiefly and more openly carried on by women who came r. !-u curing and Pagan nations ; and these being of • Dion, if they were of any religion, wouldprof bably seduce those who frequented them into the addi tional and heinous crime of idolatry, as Solomon after wards knew by his own woful experience. He dissuades from sloth and idleness ; and upon this topic -he is also copious ; for, being himself of a most-uv SERMON XXII. 285 quisitive, studious, and active temper, he seems to have had a particular abhorrence for -the sluggard, whom he sets forth in all his rags and misery, a creature hated of God and despised by men, and whom he ridicules with great vivacity, -and censures with much vehemence. He exhorts to avoid the pernicious company of sinners, to shun strife and contention, sedition and rebellion, to keep the heart, free from irregular passions, from pride, conceit, envy, rapaciousness, covetousness; anger, con tempt of others'; not to be liars, gluttons, drunkards, slanderers, tale-bearers, false witnesses, over-credulous, takers and givers of bribes to pervert judgement, partial, and respecters of persons, talkative and .vain boasters ; never to oppress any, especially not the poor and help less, whose cause- God, will take in hand, and revenge the injuries done, to them. . - , ;. ¦ He exhorts to avoid suretyship as a most dangerous indiscretion ; by which I suppose he means that we should never be "bound in behalf of another for more', -than we can afford to lose, without any considerable detriment to our fortunes and families. : He teacheth us not to trust in riches, in friends, in superior abilities, nor to value ourselves for our oblations and sacrifices, for any of the externals or ceremonials of religion ; but to account works of righteousness to be by far the more important parts of our duty. • . Lastly,. He earnestly exhorts us not to he scoffers and scorners- of religion. Such persons he considers as the worst sort of sinners, as incurable fools and reprobates. The seorner, if he is in a mean and' poor condition, doth all'.the mischief that he can perform in his narrow sphene of action; if he is in an exalted station, he is a public curse, and a national, calamity * , The seorner .hateth ad monition, and hateth and injureth the friendly and cha ritable man. who giveth it. Therefore Solomon advisetfi 286 SERMON XXII. us to have nothing to say to such a man, and nothing to do with him. And our Saviour, in like manner, warns his disciples, in prudence to avoid persons of this cha racter, and not to throw away instruction upon- them ; not to give holy things to dogs, nor to cast pearls before swine. For thus it is ; The man who sins, and owns himself a sinner, who hath lucid intervals, in which he is sorry for his follies, who purposes to amend some time or other, who honours that virtue and piety which he doth not practise, such an one is not past recovery, there is in his breast a vital spark, which though feeble and dim may be kindled into a spiritual life ; but when he proceeds to add impudence to vice, and pride to ignorance, and to fancy himself full of wit, of wisdom, and of penetration, and to show his parts, such as they are, in ridiculing morality and making a jest of his Maker and of religion, he is dead in trespasses and sins, and one might as well preach to the grave, as to him. I have now given you an abstract of Solomon's maxims and sentences, which contain a good moral system, and the main parts of our duty to God, to our neighbour, and to ourselves. This is the religion of Nature ; this is the religion of Moses and the prophets, only the ceremonial law was added to it: this is, lastly, the religion of the- New Testament; only faith in Christ, and a belief of his doctrines, and an open profession of his Gospel, and the two sacraments are added in the Christian dispensation. Let us then consider the motives, by which Solomon ;„ cv,ic k„~i- ~f D»overbs enforces these moral duties, arid .vhich he, in the name of divine Wis dom, promiseth to those who practise them. And they are no less than every advantage that a man can reason ably desire in this life; they are the favour of God, and his protection, and along with it, the testimony of a good conscience, courage and confidence, safety from evil, long SERMON XXII. 287 life, health, plenty, riches, honours, reputation both pre sent and posthumous, and an inheritance that shall der scend to children's children. As Solomon promises these blessings tp the righteous, so he threatens sinners with aft the opposite evils and calamities. But here we must pause, and ask, Are these things so ? and were they ever so ? Here are ample promises indeed, but they relate to the present life, and seem confined to it. So that if the per formance ever fall short of the promises, if these privileges were not constantly bestowed upon the wise and upright, we are forced, though unwillingly, to. conclude that al though the- duties which Solomon recommended were in deed decent and amiable and laudable, yet the motives by which he enforced them were weak and fallacious* Some will tell you that under the Jewish dispensation* whilst God was the immediate king and governor of that nation, temporal rewards and punishments were distri buted equally and exactly to individuals, according to their behaviour. But the history of the Old Testament, short as it is, contains enough to disprove this notion ; and in-r deed the constitution of things proclaims, its impossibility, and shows that this world was never intended for a state of exact retribution. Never was there such a state of things from the infancy of the world, from the day when Cain slew his righteous, brother =, dpwn to the present time- The- case seems to be this : Whilst- God acted as the. king of Israel, he by an extraordinary providence dis pensed temporal rewards and punishments to that people in a national manner ; and as the prosperity or adversity of individuals depends much upon the state of the public, they were more frequently recompensed or corrected in this life than any other people ; but yet not without some ex- .. - f .Fraterno primi madaerunt sanguine- campi, . .-,7.;r 288 SERMON XXIIi ceptions. Therefore all the promises of worldly felicity made to the righteous in the books of the Old Testament must needs have been understood by wise and good men as usually but not -invariably bestowed. And Solomon himself sometimes supposeth that a man may be poor and neglected of nien, and yet honest, and in the favour of God. These exceptions' to God's equabprOvidenee were so many indications of another life ; and it was most reason able to conclude, that, when God permitted his best ser vants to be here in a suffering state, he would make it up to them hereafter. r For the most part, indeed, and generally speaking, it is true; and it will justify .Solomon's observations, that piety or, virtue produceth. many present advantages, by its own natural tendency, and by the fixed laws of causes and, ef fects ; and that it secures from many evils wh;ch a flagi tious behaviour fails not to produce. So that at all times, and under all dispensations, there are .not wanting mpr tives, even of the temporal kind, to call rational, creature? to the practice of their duty. In thecNew Testament .also, these motives are sometimes mentioned, as it js fit they should. But as a future state,. is, there, more clearly di% covered,- that is used as the principal-inducement. } The doctrine, of the,. Gospel is this: If. thou ,does,t these things, happy art thou ; for, though the. world cannqf^ or will , not recompense thee, thou shalt. be. recompensed at the resurrection of the just. . , . C 289 ) SERMON XXIII. Proverbs xv. 14. The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge. J. HE desire of knowledge is in some sense natural to us all ; and it is the duty of us all to cherish that desire, to direct it to proper objects, and to keep it within due bounds. These three points shall be the subject ofthe following discourse. Knowledge is necessary for us, not only'to manage the affairs of this life, but also to perform the service of our Maker. Conscience may dictate to us that things are right or wrong, decent or indecent ; and conscience may be mistaken in her decisions, unless she call in reason to her assistance ; for a clear knowledge of morality cannofe be obtained without serious consideration and the exer cise of our intellectual faculties ; nor can the revealed will of God be understood without application of mind. We at first receive the knowledge of things by percep tion, and then improve it by reflection. So that to get wisdom, and make ourselves masters of useful sciences, much thought, industry, and study are required. Our- memory also seldom faithfully retains the first impressionst except they be repeated ; so that recollection and practice and habit are necessary to render us expert. Since then knowledge is so expedient for us, and cannot be acquired without labour, it was proper that we should have such a desire of it as would excite us to search for it, andmake Vol. III. U 290 SERMON XXIII. the pursuit of it the more entertaining. In other cases, we see that men have strong propensities after those things which they account necessary to their support, and which they would else be disposed to neglect, because of the trouble and fatigue which usually attends the acquisition and preservation of them. This general desire of knowledge is manifested very soon. We see how early curiosity exerts itself in healthy and lively children, how they gaze at every new object, and reach at any thing that is near, how apt, they are to ask questions, and to inquire the names and natures of things. This inclination grows up with us, and no one can be contented to be wholly ignorant, but , is for gratifying one way or other the inherent propensity. It must indeed be owned that some persons seem to have very little of this desire ; but it is not from them that we are to make an estimate of mankind ; as we must not con clude that man is not a rational creature, because some make little or no use of their reason. Such indolence is very often rather a fault of their will than a defect in their nature ; and we do not say that this appetite is equally strong in all men, any more than the other inclinations. The good of civil society, which requires that there should be men of low as well as of high rank, seems also to re quire an unequal distribution of the temper and abilities of the mind. It is meet that there should be men of smaller as well as of larger capacities, .that they may be fitted for different • ways of life ; and this also makes it ' ere should be various degrees of this pro- x _, — ~x~o knowledge. But as all have need of some measure of knowledge, we may conclude that they usually have the desire of it~in some degree. There have in all times been some, who have taken extraordinary pains to improve their understanding. They have despised riches, iuuf renounced honours, and abstained from pleasures, SERMON XXIII. 291 arid iti silent retirement from the busy world, have sought after truth with clear and undisturbed minds. They have endured hardships, and have travelled by sea and by land, to learn the laws, the manners, the religions, and the Sciences of other nations. They have neglected both rest and food, to study the liberal arts, and to search into nature. Such have been their unquenchable thirst of knowledge. Those illustrious persons, in very ancient times, to whose labours the world is so much indebted, seem to have been raised by Providence for the benefit of mankind. Like the sun in his progress through the heavens, they brought their light from the eastern coun* tries, and with it illuminated these western parts ; and by their learned industry the understandings of men were refined, and their lives were Civilized, artd so the world was in some measure prepared for the reception of the Gospel, as judicious persons have conjectured. Knowledge then is a very desirable acquisition. The pleasure of any creature consists in having objects suitable to its faculties. Kriowledge therefore must be agreeable to an intelligent being, and as pleasant to the intellectual part, as is a fine prospect to the eye, or harmonious sounds to the ear. Many there are who spend much time and pains in very useless speculations and unprofitable studies, and in so doing find amusement and satisfaction, from a false taste and a want of judgement. Yet even these seek and find a soft of knowledge ; for novelty is know ledge, or something like it. But far* superior is the plea sure of those who have applied themselves to the disqui sition of nobler subjects, and of sublimer truths. We f" ead of contemplative persons, who, havirig found out the solution of difficult problems which had long perplexed them, Were so overcome with joy, that they seeme'dtobe beside themselves. When new scenes of truth open upon the eye of the understanding, an agreeable admiration is U 2 292 SERMON XXIII. excited, and is the greater for the present, when any .con siderable point of knowledge accidentally ..offers itself, which lay concealed before. We have pleasure when We find what we sought; and still more when we find it unex pectedly, and without previous pains, for we love know ledge more than we love labour ; knowledge we love for its own sake, and labour only for the sake of that know ledge which it produces. The holy Scriptures bear witness to this, as it may be concluded from those figures of speech by which igno rance and knowledge are there represented to us. Igno rance is styled darkness, which is disagreeable; and truth is called light, which it is pleasant to behold. Our Sa viour supposes the knowledge of his doctrines and of his promises to be matter of great exultation to well-disposed minds. The kingdom of heaven, says he, is like unto a treasure hid in a field, which a man haying found, he hideth it, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field., It must have been a great joy indeed, which, induced those who first embraced the Gospel, so cheerfully to renounce all the advantages, and endure all" the evils of this life, for the glorious prospect of a blessed immortality. They were like men who are brought out of a dark prison into day-light and liberty all on a sudden. Our subject may be further illustrated by considering that this will be no small part of the satisfaction which the good will enjoy in a future and a better state. Their un- j .— j •- -q tjlen ke en|argecjj an(j wjii take jn kpow- -ro- ---- —e facility. They will be freed from all causes of error, as well as from all temptations to evil, and in a clear light will contemplate many excellent truths, of which at present they discern little or nothing. If this improvement be represented to us in the Scriptures as a -blessing and a reward, it is evident that the knowledge SERMON XXIII. 293 to whtch the good can attain here below, is proportionally agreeable and valuable, and fully repays the labour of ac quiring it. " There is an objection to all this from the words of So lomon himself, in the Book of Ecclesiastes, where he seems to contradict what he asserts in the text concerning that laudable desire of knowledge, which is always to be found in well-disposed minds. He says there, in a me lancholy and desponding mood, Tn much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. If this be the case, a man cannot do better than to sit down contented in a humble and quiet ignorance, which* is worth all the liberal arts put together. Such kind - of proverbial sentences and general affirmations are ca pable of different senses, and liable to many limitations. Solomon in his Ecclesiastes describes the conduct of a person who seeks for satisfaction in the enjoyments of this world, and observes, that he who doth this will assuredly be disappointed ; for these things were not designed to be the supreme happiness of man. We have eager cravings, after complete felicity, which can never be satisfied by earthly objects. They are all too uncertain, and too im perfect to give us full contentment. He that seeks it in them will find much vanity and vexation, will have cause to repent of his choice, and will look back upon his vain attempts with dissatisfaction. The pleasures of this world are like the sensitive plant ; they look fair and flourishing at a distance ; but when we come to touch them, they' shrink and wither away. So then, according to Solomon, the pleasures of the senses, and the abundance of worldly possessions, and this kind of experimental knowledge, will not make a man happy. But there is a wisdom arid a knowledge, relating, not directly to morality and religion, yet to objects innocent and useful, which is properly called learning, or skill, 294 SERMON XXIII. relating to the liberal arts and sciences, to the affairs of this world, and to all that it offers to our observation ; and here Solomon's remark may in a certain sense be applied, In much of this wisdom there is much grief, and he that increaseth this knowledge, increaseth sorrow. For va luable, and entertaining, and profitable as it is, it may be attended with some inconveniences, and produce uneasi6- ness and vexation, partly through our own fault, and partly through the fault of others. For he who excells in this knowledge is sometimes disposed to esteem him self too much on that account, and to slight others, and to grow morose, contentious and overbearing, and to be vexed at the ignorance, folly, and misconduct of his fel low-citizens. And though his superior knowledge should be adorned with humility, patience, and good-nature, yet it exposes him to the envy, the calumny, and the maliCe of those who are insolent, proud, and knavish, and who usually have the most power in their hands, though not the most knowledge in their heads. But it ought not hence to be inferred that there is not an advantage and a delight, even in secular knowledge wisely pursued and soberly used ; and much less that the contemplation of God's works, and the study of his Will, do not afford a serious and a lasting pleasure. Solomon's discourse therefore about the vanity of this world is closed with this religious maxim ; Fear God and keep his com mandments ; for this is the whole of man ; this is his main duty and interest, this is his pleasure and his happiness. ;ed to observe that our natural desire of knowledge may be misused, as well as the other inclina tions and passions of the human mind. It may be too little ; it may be too great ; it may be applied to wrong objects. Some persons do not desire knowledge so much as. they ought. They neglect this natural propensity, and SERMON XXIII. 295 suffer Jt to be in a manner extinguished ; which certainly is a great misbehaviour : for God doth not put passions in our minds to be extirpated, but to be improved, and hath not endued us with understanding for no purpose. We should have some employment for our faculties, as well as for our hands and feet, and we must not let our thoughts run to waste, any more than our time. It be comes us, as rational agents, to acquire knowledge in ge neral, religious knowledge in particular. And yet how many are there who neglect the means of obtaining the letter ? They will not attend to the voice of their own conscience, nor let the light of divine revelation shine upon them, but shut it out by their follies and vices. Their lives testify that they neither know how to govern their Tappetites, nor how to regulate their conduct. This ig norant negligence of religion may proceed from too warm a pursuit of other things. But what will this world avail • us, if we are excluded from an inheritance in the next ? It may proceed from mere sloth. But the unprofitable servant, who suffers his talents to lie useless, is to be cast -into utter darkness. The Scriptures therefore exhort us, . not to be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is ; and not to be inactive, but to do the work of him that sent us, whilst it is day, and before the night cometh when none can work. The wise and industrious Solomon admonisheth us to seek for wisdom as for silver, and to search for her as for hidden treasure. The Be- rceans, who neither rejected the Gospel, nor received "it hastily and upon trust, but honestly inquired into the evi dences of it, are commended by St. Luke as men of the* best spirit andthe noblest temper. It is an argument of consummate wickedness to say to the Almighty, De part from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. Not that all sinners will thus defy God with their lips ; but tfius their behaviour speaketh for them, when 296 SERMON XXIII. they reject and despise instruction. It is a shame for young persons, and far more for those who are advanced in years, not to have taken the first step to a religious life, either in knowledge or in practice. Another abuse ofthe love of knowledge is to mind things less considerable more than those of greater mo ment. Thus amongst persons of a liberal education, you shall see some spending their time in a laborious study. of words, neglecting the more useful. study of things -, and yet the knowledge of words is chiefly valuable as it is- a help to the understanding of things. But indeed, to be skilled in the art .of governing the passions, and in the, plain rules of holy living, is preferable to all kind of eru dition. Without much learning we maybe wise and hap py ; but we cannot be so without knowing and perform-; ing our duty. Though a man were ever so well versed, in other arts and sciences ; though he knew the virtues, properties, and uses of every thing that the earth contains ; though he could unfold all the laws of matter and mo tion ; what . will it profit him hereafter, if he doth not understand the word of God, as well as the book of na ture, and doth not serve that Supreme Cause, whose works he contemplates ? It is mere vanity and folly to be able, to describe the way of the' heavenly bodies, and not to know the way to heaven ; or, which is much more common, to be expert in the means of getting an estate, which must be left in a short time, and to lay up no trea sure in the everlasting . kingdom of God. Tr, *k- o„„:_ es themselves, all things are not of the , Some places are so obscure, that they seem to be left for the exercise of our humility, or for the discovery of future ages. The plain precepts and pro mises of religion should be our principal study, the former being the rule of our conduct, and the latter the support and comfort of our mind. David never speaks of his de- SERMON XXIir. 297 lighting in abstruse and difficult questions, but expresses himself very feelingly concerning the pleasure and benefit which he found in contemplating the commandments of God. By them, says he, is thy servant taught, and in keeping of them there is great reward. St. Paul exhorts the Corinthians not to value themselves upon gifts, na tural or supernatural, but to prefer to them all the exercise of Christian charity. He advises also to avoid foolish questions, and disputes which gender strife, which, in stead of sweetening the temper, irritate the angry passions; and rather to follow righteousness, faith, charity, and peace. - Yet the things which are of lesser consequence are not wholly forbidden, provided too much time be not spent in them, and they do not usurp the place of better oc cupations. Some things there are which we ought not to know ; and a vain curiosity after them constitutes another abuse of our natural desire of knowledge. This curiosity brought on the fall of our first parents, and still reigns amongst their posterity. God hath commanded us to keep aloof from the pleasures of sin ; but we long to taste of those forbidden fruits, though in such cases to be ignorant is both an advantage and a virtue, and to know is both a misfortune and a crime. Sin should only be known a£ the rocks at sea, that it may be avoided. There is another sort of forbidderi curiosity, that of busy-bodies and tale-bearers, who meddle with other people's affairs, and pry into the secrets of families, arid decide about public or private concerns without sufficient information or proper qualifications^ the genuine con. sequence of which is impertinence, censoriousness, false judgement, and malice mixed vvith mistakes. They also are inexcusable, who in speculative points of religion rashly 'and proudly dogmatize about tilings 298 SERMON XXIII. which they cannot comprehend. It is reasonable to hope that God will make great allowances for the errors of good men ; but it is no less reasonable to think that he will be highly displeased with those who decide presumpr tuously about unrevealed points, and uncharitably cout demn and oppress those who will not submit to their bold determinations. It becomes us also to be contented with such a know ledge of the divine nature, and the divine administration, as we are capable of acquiring, and to remember that when Moses desired to see the glory of God, he was not favoured with the full sight, but was only suffered to be hold such manifestations of it as were not too bright for mortal eyes. Our understanding is confined within small bounds, and reason and Scripture tell us that no man by searching can find out the Almighty to perfection. His perfection lies in his incomprehensibility. If he could be fully under stood by his creatures, he would not be infinite. He can also effect his designs by ways which we cannot trace, and hath attributes too large for our narrow conceptions. What is necessary for us to know concerning him is clear both from his works and from his word. But where his works and his word are silent, we should be so to. We know not the nature even of those substances which are exposed to our senses, and can only discern their outward qualities ; much less can we comprehend the invisible es sence of the Almighty. Even the angels who excell us much as in rank and dignity, and good men wnu ij