{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_63452/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_63452","id":"gutenberg_63452","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63452","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Religion/Spirituality","Methodist Church","Theology -- Early works to 1800","Theology -- History -- 18th century"],"text":"THE\n WORKS\n OF THE\n Rev. JOHN WESLEY\n\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Punctuation has been standardized. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The concluding Table of Contents, has been moved to the front \u2502\n \u2502 of the book to make it more useable. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The author has used an asterisk (*) to indicate passages he \u2502\n \u2502 considers most worthy of attention. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The text may show quotations within quotations, all set off \u2502\n \u2502 by double quote marks. The inner quotations have been changed \u2502\n \u2502 to single quote marks for improved readability. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Non-printable characteristics have been given the following \u2502\n \u2502 Italic text: --> _text_ \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 This book was written in a period when many words had \u2502\n \u2502 not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have \u2502\n \u2502 multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in \u2502\n \u2502 the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated \u2502\n \u2502 with a Transcriber\u2019s Note. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The symbol \u2018\u2021\u2019 indicates the description in parenthesis has \u2502\n \u2502 been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there \u2502\n \u2502 is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image \u2502\n \u2502 adequately. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in \u2502\n \u2502 brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section \u2502\n \u2502 at the end of the text. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes are used when making corrections to the \u2502\n \u2502 text or to provide additional information for the modern \u2502\n \u2502 reader. These notes are identified in the text by a \u2666 symbol, \u2502\n \u2502 and are accumulated in a single section at the end of the \u2502\n \u2502 book. \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\n\n\n\n THE\n WORKS\n OF THE\n Rev. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.\n\n Late Fellow of _Lincoln-College_, OXFORD.\n\n\n VOLUME II.\n\n\n BRISTOL:\n Printed by WILLIAM PINE, in _Wine-Street_\n MDCCLXXI.\n\n\n\n\n THE\n CONTENTS\n Of the SECOND VOLUME.\n\n SERMONS on several Occasions.\n\n\n SERMON \u2666XVII.\n The Circumcision of the Heart.\n\n Rom. ii. 29. _Circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit\n and not in the letter._\n\n\n SERMON XVIII.\n The Marks of the New Birth.\n\n John iii. 8. _So is every one that is born of the Spirit._\n\n\n SERMON XIX.\n The great Privilege of those that are born of God.\n\n 1 John iii. 9. _Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin._\n\n\n SERMON XX.\n The Lord our Righteousness.\n\n Jer. xxiii. 6. _This is his name whereby he shall be called_,\n THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.\n\n\n SERMON XXI.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE I.\n Matt. v. 1\u20124.\n\n\n SERMON XXII.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE II.\n Matt. v. 5\u20127.\n\n\n SERMON XXIII.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE III.\n Matt. v. 8\u201212.\n\n\n SERMON XXIV.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE IV.\n Matt. v. 13\u201216.\n\n\n SERMON XXV.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE V.\n Matt. v. 17\u201220.\n\n\n SERMON XXVI.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE VI.\n Matt. vi. 1\u201215.\n\n\n SERMON XXVII.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE VII.\n Matt. vi. 16\u201218.\n\n\n SERMON XXVIII.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE VIII.\n Matt. vi. 19\u201223.\n\n\n SERMON XXIX.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE IX.\n Matt. vi. 24\u201234.\n\n\n SERMON XXX.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE X.\n Matt. vii. 1\u201212.\n\n\n Illustration: (\u2021 decoration)\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XVII.[1]\n\n THE CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART.\n ROM. ii. 29.\n\n\n _Circumcision is that of the heart,\n in the spirit and not in the letter._\n\n1. \u2019TIS the melancholly remark of an excellent man, that \u201cHe who now\npreaches the most essential duties of Christianity, runs the hazard\nof being esteemed by a great part of his hearers, _a setter forth of\nnew doctrines_.\u201d Most men have so _lived away_ the substance of that\nreligion, the profession whereof they still retain, that no sooner are\nany of those truths proposed, which difference the Spirit of _Christ_\nfrom the Spirit of the world, than they cry out, _Thou bringest strange\nthings to our ears; we would know what these things mean_.\u2015\u2015Though\nhe is only preaching to them _Jesus and the resurrection_, with the\nnecessary consequence of it. If _Christ_ be risen, ye ought then to die\nunto the world, and to live wholly unto God.\n\n2. A hard saying this to the _natural man_, who is alive unto the\nworld, and dead unto God, and one that he will not readily be persuaded,\nto receive as the truth of God, unless it be so qualified in the\ninterpretation, as to have neither use nor significancy left. He\n_receiveth not the_ words _of the Spirit of God_, taken in their plain\nand obvious meaning. _They are foolishness unto him: neither_ indeed\n_can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned_: They are\nperceivable only by that spiritual sense, which in him was never yet\nawakened; for want of which he must reject as idle fancies of men, what\nare both the _wisdom_ and the _power of God_.\n\n3. That _circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not\nin the letter_; that the distinguishing mark of a true follower of\n_Christ_, of one who is in a state of acceptance with God, is not\neither outward circumcision or baptism, or any other outward form, but\na right state of soul, a mind and spirit renewed after the image of\nhim that created it, is one of those important truths, that can only be\n_spiritually discerned_. And this the apostle himself intimates in the\nnext words, _whose praise is not of men, but of God_. As if he had said,\n\u201cExpect not, whoever thou art, who thus followest thy great Master,\nthat the world, the men who follow him not, will say, _well done, good\nand faithful servant_! Know that the _circumcision of the heart_, the\nseal of thy calling, _is foolishness with the world_. Be content to\nwait for thy applause, \u2019till the day of thy Lord\u2019s appearing. In that\nday shalt thou _have praise of God_, in the great assembly of men and\nangels.\u201d\n\nI design, first, particularly to enquire, wherein this circumcision\nof heart consists: And, secondly to mention some reflections, that\nnaturally arise from such an enquiry.\n\nI. 1. I am, first, to enquire, wherein that circumcision of heart\nconsists, which will receive the praise of God. In general we may\nobserve, it is that habitual disposition of soul, which in the sacred\nwritings is termed holiness, and which directly implies, the being\ncleansed from sin, _from all filthiness both of flesh and spirit_, and\nby consequence, the being endued with those virtues, which were also in\n_Christ Jesus_, the being so _renewed in the image of our mind_, as to\nbe _perfect, as our Father in heaven is perfect_.\n\n2. To be more particular, Circumcision of heart implies humility,\nfaith, hope, and charity. Humility, a right judgment of ourselves,\ncleanses our minds from those high conceits of our own perfections,\nfrom that undue opinion of our own abilities and attainments, which are\nthe genuine fruit of a corrupted nature. This entirely cuts off that\nvain thought, I am _rich_ and _wise_, and _have need of nothing_; and\nconvinces, us, that we are by nature _wretched, and poor, and miserable,\nand blind, and naked_. It convinces us, that in our best estate, we\nare of ourselves all sin and vanity; that confusion, and ignorance\nand error, reign over our understanding; that unreasonable, earthly,\nsensual, devilish passions, usurp authority over our will: in a word,\nthat there is no whole part in our soul, that all the foundations of\nour nature are out of course.\n\n3. At the same time we are convinced, that we are not sufficient of\nourselves to help ourselves; that without the Spirit of God we can do\nnothing but add sin to sin: that it is he alone _who worketh in us_\nby his almighty power, either _to will or do_ that which is good; it\nbeing as impossible for us even to think a good thought, without the\nsupernatural assistance of his Spirit, as to create ourselves, or to\nrenew our whole souls in righteousness and true holiness.\n\n4. A sure effect of our having formed this right judgment, of the\nsinfulness and helplessness of our nature, is a disregard of that\n_honour which cometh of man_, which is usually paid to some supposed\nexcellency in us. He who knows himself, neither desires nor values the\napplause which he knows he deserves not. It is therefore _a very small\nthing with_ him, _to be judged by man\u2019s judgment_. He has all reason\nto think, by comparing what it has said either for or against him, with\nwhat he feels in his own breast, that the world, as well as the God of\nthis world, was _a liar from the beginning_. And even as to those who\nare not of the world, though he would chuse, if it were the will of\nGod, that they should account of him as of one desirous to be found a\nfaithful steward of his Lord\u2019s goods, if haply this might be a means of\nenabling him to be of more use to his fellow-servants, yet as this is\nthe one end of his wishing for their approbation, so he does not at all\nrest upon it. For he is assured, that whatever God wills, he can never\nwant instruments to perform; since he is able, even of these stones, to\nraise up servants to do his pleasure.\n\n5. This is that lowliness of mind, which they have learned of _Christ_,\nwho follow his example and tread in his steps. And this knowledge of\ntheir disease, whereby they are more and more cleansed from one part\nof it, pride and vanity, disposes them to embrace, with a willing mind,\nthe second thing implied in _circumcision of heart_, that faith which\nalone is able to make them whole, which is the one medicine given under\nheaven to heal their sickness.\n\n6. The best guide of the blind, the surest light of them that are in\ndarkness, the most perfect instructor of the foolish, is faith. But\nit must be such a faith as is _mighty through God, to the pulling down\nof strong-holds_, to the overturning all the prejudices of corrupt\nreason, all the false maxims revered among men; all evil customs and\nhabits; all that _wisdom of the world_ which _is foolishness with\nGod_; as _casteth down imaginations_ (reasonings) _and every high thing\nthat exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringeth into\ncaptivity every thought to the obedience of_ Christ.\n\n7. _All things are possible to him that_ thus _believeth: the eyes of\nhis understanding being enlightened_, he _sees_ what is his calling,\neven to _glorify God_, who hath _bought him with_ so high _a price, in\nhis body and in his spirit, which now are God\u2019s_ by redemption, as well\nas by creation. He feels what is _the exceeding greatness of his power_,\nwho as he raised up _Christ_ from the dead, so is able to quicken us,\n_dead in sin, by his Spirit which dwelleth in us. This is the victory\nwhich overcometh the world, even our faith_: that faith which is not\nonly an unshaken assent to all that God hath revealed in scripture,\nand in particular to those important truths, _Jesus Christ came into\nthe world to save sinners; he bare our sins in his own body on the\ntree; he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but\nalso for the sins of the whole world_: [2]But likewise the revelation\nof _Christ_ in our hearts; a divine evidence or conviction of his\nlove, his free, unmerited love to me a sinner, a sure confidence in\nhis pardoning mercy, wrought in us by the Holy Ghost: a confidence,\nwhereby every true believer is enabled to bear witness, _I know that\nmy Redeemer liveth_; that _I have an Advocate with the Father_; that\n_Jesus Christ the righteous is_ my Lord, and _the propitiation for_ my\n_sins_. I know he _hath loved_ me, _and given himself for_ me. He _hath\nreconciled_ me, _even_ me _to God_; and I _have redemption through his\nblood even the forgiveness of sins_.\n\n8. Such a faith as this, cannot fail to shew evidently the power of\nhim that inspires it, by delivering his children from the yoke of sin,\nand _purging_ their _consciences from dead works_: by strengthning\nthem so, that they are no longer constrained to _obey sin in the\ndesires thereof_; but instead of _yielding their members unto_ it _as\ninstruments of unrighteousness_, they now _yield_ themselves entirely\n_unto God, as those that are alive from the dead_.\n\n9. Those who are thus by faith _born of God_, have also _strong\nconsolation through hope_. This is the next thing which the\n_circumcision of the heart_ implies; even the testimony of their own\nspirit, with the Spirit which witnesses in their hearts, that they are\nthe children of God. Indeed it is the same Spirit who works in them\nthat clear and chearful confidence, that their heart is upright toward\nGod; that good assurance, that they now do, through his grace, the\nthings which are acceptable in his sight; that they are now in the path\nwhich leadeth to life, and shall, by the mercy of God endure therein to\nthe end. It is he who giveth them a lively expectation of receiving all\ngood things at God\u2019s hand; a joyous prospect of that _crown of glory,\nwhich is reserved in heaven_ for them. By this anchor a Christian is\nkept steady in the midst of the waves of this troublesome world, and\npreserved from striking upon either of those fatal rocks, presumption\nor despair. He is neither discouraged by the misconceived severity of\nhis Lord, nor does he _\u2666despise the riches of his goodness_. He neither\napprehends the difficulties of the race set before him to be greater\nthan he has strength to conquer, nor expects them to be so little as\nto yield him the conquest, \u2019till he has put forth all his strength.\nThe experience he already has in the Christian warfare, as it assures\nhim, his _labour is not in vain_, if _whatever his hand findeth to do_,\nhe _doth it with his might_; so it forbids his entertaining so vain\na thought, as that he can otherwise gain any advantage, as that any\nvirtue can be shewn, any praise attained, by _faint hearts and feeble\nhands_: or indeed by any but those who pursue the same course with\nthe great apostle of the Gentiles, _I_, says he, _so run, not as\nuncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. But I keep\nunder my body, and bring it into subjection; lest by any means when I\nhave preached to others, I myself should be a cast-away._\n\n10. By the same discipline is every good soldier of _Christ_, to _inure\nhimself to endure hardship_. Confirmed and strengthened by this, he\nwill be able not only to renounce the _works of darkness_, but every\nappetite too and every affection, which is not subject to the law of\nGod. For _every one_, saith St. _John, who hath this hope, purifieth\nhimself even as he is pure_. It is his daily care, by the grace of God\nin _Christ_, and thro\u2019 the blood of the covenant, to purge the inmost\nrecesses of his soul, from the lusts that before possest and defiled it;\nfrom uncleanness, and envy, and malice, and wrath, from every passion\nand temper, that is _after the flesh_, that either springs from, or\ncherishes, his native corruption: as well knowing, that he whose very\n_body is the temple of_ God, ought to admit into it nothing common or\nunclean; and that _holiness becometh_ that _house for ever_, where the\nSpirit of holiness vouchsafes to dwell.\n\n11. Yet lackest thou one thing, whosoever thou art, that to a deep\nhumility, and a stedfast faith, hast joined a lively hope, and thereby\nin a good measure cleansed thy heart from its inbred pollution. If\nthou wilt be perfect, add to all these charity; add love, and thou\nhast the _circumcision of the heart. Love is the fulfilling of the law,\nthe end of the commandment._ Very excellent things are spoken of love;\nit is the essence, the spirit, the life of all virtue. It is not only\nthe first and great command, but it is all the commandments in one.\nWhatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever\nthings are amiable or honourable; if there be any virtue, if there be\nany praise, they are all comprized in this one word, love. In this is\nperfection and glory and happiness: the royal law of heaven and earth\nis this, _Thou shalt love the_ Lord _thy_ God _with all thy heart, and\nwith all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength_.\n\n12. *Not that this forbids us to love any thing besides God: It implies,\nthat we _love our brother also_. Nor yet does it forbid us (as some\nhave strangely imagined) to take pleasure in any thing but God. To\nsuppose this, is to suppose the Fountain of holiness, is directly the\nauthor of sin: since he has inseparably annexed pleasure to the use of\nthose creatures, which are necessary to sustain the life he has given\nus. This therefore can never be the meaning of his command. What the\nreal sense of it is, both our blessed Lord and his apostles tell us too\nfrequently and too plainly to be misunderstood. They all with one mouth\nbear witness, that the true meaning of those several declarations,\n_The_ Lord _thy_ God _is one_ Lord. _Thou shalt have no other Gods but\nme; Thou shalt love the_ Lord _thy_ God _with all thy strength; thou\nshalt cleave unto him_; The _desire of thy soul_ shall be _to his name_:\nis no other than this. The one perfect Good shall be your one ultimate\nend. One thing shall ye desire for its own sake, the fruition of him\nthat is all in all. One happiness shall ye propose to your souls,\neven an union with him that made them: the having _fellowship with the\nFather and the Son_: the being _joined to the_ Lord _in one spirit_.\nOne design ye are to pursue to the end of time, the enjoyment of God in\ntime and in eternity. Desire other things, so far as they tend to this.\nLove the creature\u2015\u2015as it leads to the Creator. But in every step you\ntake, be this the glorious point that terminates your view. Let every\naffection, and thought, and word, and work, be subordinate to this.\nWhatever ye desire or fear, whatever ye seek or shun, whatever ye think,\nspeak, or do, be it in order to your happiness in God, the sole end as\nwell as source of your being.\n\n13. *Have no end, no ultimate end but God. Thus our Lord, _One thing is\nneedful_. And if thine eye be singly fixt on this one thing, _thy whole\nbody shall be full of light_. Thus St. _Paul, This one thing I do; I\npress toward the mark, for the prize of the high calling in_ Christ\nJesus. Thus St. _James, Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your\nhearts, ye double-minded_. Thus St. _John, Love not the world, neither\nthe things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, the\nlust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, is not\nof the Father, but is of the world._ The seeking happiness in what\ngratifies either the desire of the flesh, by agreeably striking upon\nthe outward senses, the desire of the eye, of the imagination, by\nits novelty, greatness, or beauty; or the pride of life, whether by\npomp, grandeur, power, or the usual consequence of them, applause\nand admiration: _Is not of the Father_, cometh not from, neither\nis approved by the Father of spirits; _but of the world_; it is the\ndistinguishing mark of those, who will not have him to reign over them.\n\n\nII. 1. Thus have I particularly inquired, what that _circumcision of\nheart_ is, which will obtain the praise of God. I am, in the second\nplace, to mention some reflections, that naturally arise from such\nan inquiry, as a plain rule whereby every man may judge of himself,\nwhether he be of the world or of God.\n\nAnd, first, it is clear, from what has been said, that no man has a\ntitle to the praise of God, unless his heart is circumcised by humility,\nunless he is little, and base, and vile in his own eyes: unless he is\ndeeply convinced of that inbred \u201ccorruption of his nature, whereby he\nis very far gone from original righteousness,\u201d being prone to all evil,\naverse to all good, corrupt and abominable; having a _carnal mind_,\nwhich _is enmity against God, and is not subject to the law of God;\nnor indeed can be_: unless he continually feels in his inmost soul,\nthat without the Spirit of God resting upon him, he can neither think,\nnor desire, nor speak, nor act, any thing good or well-pleasing in his\nsight.\n\nNo man, I say, has a title to the praise of God, till he feels his want\nof God: nor indeed, till he seeketh that _honour, which cometh of God\nonly_: and neither desires nor pursues that which cometh of man, unless\nso far only as it tends to this.\n\n2. Another truth which naturally follows from what has been said, is,\nthat none shall obtain the honour that cometh of God, unless his heart\nbe circumcised by faith; even a _faith of the operation of God_: unless\nrefusing to be any longer led by his senses, appetites, or passions,\nor even by that blind leader of the blind, so idolized by the world,\nnatural reason, he lives and _walks by faith_, directs every step, as\n_seeing him that is invisible, looks not at the things that are seen,\nwhich are temporal, but at the things that are not seen, which are\neternal_; and governs all his desires, designs and thoughts, all his\nactions and conversations, as one who is entered in within the veil,\nwhere _Jesus_ sits at the right-hand of God.\n\n3. *It were to be wished, that they were better acquainted with this\nfaith, who employ much of their time and pains, in laying another\nfoundation; in grounding religion, on \u201cthe eternal _fitness_ of\nthings,\u201d on \u201cthe intrinsic _excellence_ of virtue,\u201d and the _beauty_ of\nactions flowing from it: on the _reasons_, as they term them, of good\nand evil, and the _relations_ of beings to each other. Either these\naccounts of the grounds of Christian duty, coincide with the scriptural,\nor not. If they do, why are well-meaning men perplext, and drawn from\nthe weightier matters of the law, by a cloud of terms, whereby the\neasiest truths are explained into obscurity. If they are not, then\nit behoves them to consider, who is the author of this new doctrine:\nwhether he is likely to be _an angel from heaven_, who _preacheth\nanother gospel_ than that of _Christ Jesus_: though, if he were, God,\nnot we, hath pronounced his sentence, _Let him be accursed_.\n\n4. Our gospel, as it knows no other foundation of good works than\nfaith, or of faith than _Christ_, so it clearly informs us, we are not\nhis disciples, while we either deny him to be the author, or his Spirit\nto be the inspirer and perfecter both of our faith and works. _If any\nman have not the Spirit of_ Christ, _he is none of his_. He alone can\nquicken those who are dead unto God, can breathe into them the breath\nof Christian life, and so prevent, accompany, and follow them with\nhis grace, as to bring their good desires to good effect. And _as many\nas are thus led, by the Spirit of_ God, _they are the sons of_ God.\nThis is God\u2019s short and plain account of true religion and virtue; and\n_other foundation can no man lay_.\n\n5. *From what has been said we may, thirdly, learn, That none is truly\n_led by the Spirit_, unless that _Spirit bear witness with his spirit,\nthat he is a child of_ God: unless he sees the prize and the crown\nbefore him, and _rejoices in hope of the glory of_ God: so greatly have\nthey erred, who have taught that in serving God, we ought not to have\na view to our own happiness. Nay, but we are often and expresly taught\nof God, to have respect _unto the recompence of reward_; to balance\nthe toil with the _joy set before us_, these _light afflictions_ with\nthat _exceeding weight of glory_. Yea, we are _aliens to the covenant\nof promise_, we are _without_ God _in the world_, until God _of his\nabundant mercy, hath begotten us again, unto a living hope, of the\ninheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away_.\n\n6. But if these things are so, \u2019tis high time for those persons to\ndeal faithfully with their own souls, who are so far from finding in\nthemselves this joyful assurance, that they fulfil the terms and shall\nobtain the promises of that covenant, as to quarrel with the covenant\nitself, and blaspheme the terms of it: to complain, \u201cThey are too\nsevere, and that no man ever did, or shall live up to them!\u201d What is\nthis, but to reproach God, as if he were an hard master, requiring of\nhis servants more than he enables them to perform; as if he had mocked\nthe helpless works of his hands, by binding them to impossibilities; by\ncommanding them to overcome, where neither their own strength, nor his\ngrace was sufficient for them?\n\n7. *These blasphemers might almost persuade those, to imagine\nthemselves guiltless, who in the contrary extreme, hope to fulfil the\ncommands of God, without taking any pains at all. Vain hope! that a\nchild of _Adam_ should ever expect, to see the kingdom of _Christ_\nand of God, without striving, without _agonizing_ first, _to enter\nin at the strait gate_! That one who was _conceived and born in sin_,\nand whose _inward parts are very wickedness_, should once entertain a\nthought, of being _purified as his_ Lord _is pure_, unless he _tread\nin his steps_, and _take up his cross daily_; unless he _cut off his\nright-hand_, and _pluck out the right-eye and cast it from_ him; that\nhe should ever dream of shaking off his old opinions, passions, tempers,\nof being _sanctified throughout in spirit, soul, and body_, without a\nconstant and continued course of general self-denial!\n\n8. What less than this can we possibly infer from the above cited\nwords of St. _Paul_? Who \u201cliving in _infirmities, in reproaches, in\nnecessities, in persecutions, in distresses_ for _Christ_\u2019s sake, who\nbeing full of _signs and wonders and mighty deeds_, who having been\n_caught up into the third heaven_;\u201d yet reckoned (as a late author\nstrongly expresses it) that all his virtues would be unsecure, and even\nhis salvation in danger, without this constant self-denial. _So run\nI_, says he, _not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth\nthe air_. By which he plainly teaches us, That he who does not thus\nrun, who does not thus deny himself daily, does _run uncertainly_, and\nfighteth to as little purpose as he that _beateth the air_.\n\n9. To as little purpose does he talk of _fighting the fight of faith_,\nas vainly hope to attain the crown of incorruption (as we may, lastly,\ninfer from the preceding observations) whose heart is not circumcised\nby love. Love cutting off both the lust of the flesh, the lust of the\neye, and the pride of life, engaging the whole man, body, soul and\nspirit, in the ardent pursuit of that one object, is so essential to a\nchild of God, that \u201cwithout it, whosoever liveth is counted dead before\nhim.\u201d _Though I speak with the tongue of men and angels, and have not\nlove, I am as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. Though I have the\ngift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and\nthough I have all faith so as to remove mountains, and have not love,\nI am nothing. Nay, though I give all my goods to feed the poor, and my\nbody to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing._\n\n10. Here then is the sum of the perfect law, this is the true\n_circumcision of the heart_. Let the spirit return to God that gave it,\nwith the whole train of its affections. _Unto the place from whence all\nthe rivers came, thither_ let them flow again. Other sacrifices from us\nhe would not; but the living sacrifice of the heart he hath chosen. Let\nit be continually offered up to God through _Christ_, in flames of holy\nlove. And let no creature be suffered to share with him: for he is a\njealous God. His throne will he not divide with another: he will reign\nwithout a rival. Be no design, no desire admitted there, but what has\nhim for its ultimate object. This is the way wherein those children of\nGod once walked, who being dead, still speak to us, \u201cDesire not to live\nbut to praise his name; let all your thoughts, words and works, tend\nto his glory. Set your heart firm on him, and on other things, only as\nthey are in and from him.\u201d \u201cLet your soul be filled with so entire a\nlove of him, that you may love nothing but for his sake.\u201d \u201cHave a pure\nintention of heart, a stedfast regard to his glory in all your actions.\u201d\n\u201cFix your eye upon the blessed hope of your calling, and make all the\nthings of the world minister unto it.\u201d For then, and not till then, is\nthat _mind in us which was also in_ Christ Jesus, when in every motion\nof our heart, in every word of our tongue, in every work of our hands,\nwe \u201cpursue nothing but in relation to him, and in subordination to his\npleasure:\u201d when we too, neither think, nor speak, nor act, to fulfil\nour own _will, but the will of him that sent_ us: when whether we _eat\nor drink, or whatever we do, we do all to the glory of_ God.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XVIII.\n\n THE MARKS OF THE NEW BIRTH.\n JOHN iii. 8.\n\n\n _So is every one that is born of the Spirit._\n\n1. HOW is every one that is _born of the Spirit_? That is _born again_?\n_Born of_ God? What is meant by the being _born again_? The being _born\nof_ God? Or, being _born of the Spirit_? What is implied in, The being\na _son_ or a _child of_ God? Or, having the _Spirit of adoption_? That\nthese privileges, by the free mercy of God, are ordinarily annexed to\nbaptism, (which is thence termed by our Lord in the preceding verse,\nthe being _born of water and of the Spirit_) we know: but we would know\nwhat these privileges are? What is _The New Birth_?\n\n2. Perhaps it is not needful to give a definition of this, seeing the\nscripture gives none. But as the question is of the deepest concern,\nto every child of man, (since _except a man be born again, born of the\nSpirit_, he _cannot see the kingdom of_ God) I propose to lay down the\nmarks of it in the plainest manner, just as I find them laid down in\nscripture.\n\n\nI. 1. The first of these (and the foundation of all the rest) is faith.\nSo St. _Paul, [3]Ye are all the children of_ God _by faith in_ Christ\nJesus. So St. _John, [4]To them gave he power_ (\u2666\u1f10\u03be\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03bd\u00b7 right or\nprivilege, it might rather be translated) _to become the sons of_ God,\n_even to them that believe on his name: which were born_, when they\nbelieved, (_not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh_, not by natural\ngeneration, _nor of the will of man_, like those children adopted by\nmen, in whom no inward change is thereby wrought,) _but of_ God. And\nagain in his general epistle [5]_Whosoever believeth that_ Jesus _is\nthe_ Christ, _is born of_ God.\n\n2. But it is not a barely notional or speculative faith, that is here\nspoken of by the apostles. It is not a bare assent to this proposition,\n\u201c_Jesus_ is the _Christ_;\u201d nor indeed to all the propositions contained\nin our creed, or in the Old and New Testament. It is not merely \u201can\nassent, to any, or all these credible things, as credible.\u201d To say this,\nwere to say (which who could hear?) that the devils were born of God.\nFor they have this faith. They trembling believe, both that _Jesus_ is\nthe _Christ_, and that all scripture having been given by inspiration\nof God, is true as God is true. It is not only \u201can assent to divine\ntruth, upon the testimony of God,\u201d or \u201cupon the evidence of miracles.\u201d\nFor they also heard the words of his mouth, and knew him to be a\nfaithful and true witness. They could not but receive the testimony\nhe gave, both of himself, and of the Father which sent him. They saw\nlikewise the mighty works which he did, and thence believed that he\n_came forth from_ God. Yet notwithstanding this faith, they are still\n_reserved in chains of darkness, unto the judgment of the great day_.\n\n3. For all this is no more than a dead faith. The true, living,\nChristian faith, which whosoever hath, is _born of_ God, is not only an\nassent, an act of the understanding, but a disposition which God hath\nwrought in his heart; \u201ca sure trust and confidence in God, that through\nthe merits of _Christ_, his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to\nthe favour of God.\u201d This implies, that a man first _renounce himself_;\nthat in order to be _found in_ Christ, to be accepted through him, he\ntotally reject all _confidence in the flesh_; that _having nothing to\npay_, having no trust in his own works or righteousness of any kind,\nhe come to God, as a lost, miserable, self-destroyed, self-condemned,\nundone, helpless sinner; as one whose _mouth_ is utterly _stopped_,\nand who is altogether _guilty before_ God. Such a sense of sin commonly\ncalled _despair_, (by those who speak evil of the things they know not)\ntogether with a full conviction, such as no words can express, that\nof _Christ_ only cometh our salvation, and an earnest desire of that\nsalvation, must precede a living faith: a trust in him, who \u201cfor us\npaid ransom by his death, and fulfilled the law in his life.\u201d This\nfaith then, whereby we are born of God, is \u201cnot only a belief of all\nthe articles of our faith, but also a true confidence of the mercy of\nGod, through our _Lord Jesus Christ_.\u201d\n\n4. An immediate and constant fruit of this faith, whereby we are born\nof God, a fruit which can in no wise be separated from it, no not for\nan hour, is power over sin: power over outward sin, of every kind; over\nevery evil word and work; for wheresoever the blood of _Christ_ is thus\napplied, it _purgeth the conscience from dead works_: and over inward\nsin; for it _purifieth the heart_ from every unholy desire and temper.\nThis fruit of faith, St. _Paul_ has largely described, in the sixth\nchapter of his epistle to the _Romans. [6]How shall we_ (saith he)\n_who_ by faith _are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Our old man\nis crucified with_ Christ, _that the body of sin might be destroyed,\nthat henceforth we should not serve sin.\u2015\u2015Likewise reckon ye yourselves\nto be dead unto sin, but alive unto_ God, _through_ Jesus Christ _our_\nLord.\u2015\u2015_Let not sin therefore reign_, even _in your mortal body, but\nyield yourselves unto_ God, _as those that are alive from the dead. For\nsin shall not have dominion over you._\u2015\u2015God _be thanked, that ye were\nthe servants of sin\u2015\u2015but being made free_\u2015\u2015the plain meaning is, God be\nthanked, that though ye were in time past the servants of sin, yet now\n_being free from sin, ye are become the servants of righteousness_.\n\n5. The same invaluable privilege of the sons of God, is as strongly\nasserted by St. _John_; particularly, with regard to the former branch\nof it, namely, power over outward sin. After he had been crying out,\nas one astonished at the depth of the riches of the goodness of God,\n[7]_Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that\nwe should be called the sons of_ God! _Beloved, now are we the sons of_\nGod; _and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know, that\nwhen he shall appear we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he\nis_: he soon adds, _Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin, for\nhis seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of\nGod_. But some men will say, \u201cTrue; whosoever is born of God, doth not\ncommit sin _habitually_.\u201d _Habitually!_ Whence is that? I read it not.\nIt is not written in the book. God plainly saith, _He doth not commit\nsin_. And thou addest, _habitually_! Who art thou that _mendest_ the\noracles of God? That _addest to the words of this book_? Beware I\nbeseech thee, lest God _add to thee, all the plagues that are written\ntherein_! Especially when the comment thou addest is such, as quite\nswallows up the text: so that by this \u2666\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03bf\u03b4\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 \u03c0\u03bb\u03ac\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2, this artful\nmethod of deceiving, the precious promise is utterly lost: by this\n\u03ba\u03c5\u03b2\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 \u03b1\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03ce\u03c0\u03c9\u03bd, this tricking and shuffling of men, the word of God\nis made of none effect. O beware thou that thus takest from the words\nof this book, that taking away the whole meaning and spirit from them,\nleavest only what may indeed be termed a dead letter, lest God take\naway thy part out of the book of life!\n\n6. Suffer we the apostle to interpret his own words, by the whole tenor\nof his discourse. In the fifth verse of this chapter he had said, _Ye\nknow that he_ (Christ) _was manifested, to take away our sins; and in\nhim is no sin_. What is the inference he draws from this? [8]_Whosoever\nabideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him,\nneither known him._ To his inforcement of this important doctrine, he\npromises an highly necessary caution: [9]_Little children, let no man\ndeceive you_, (for many will endeavour so to do; to persuade you that\nyou may be unrighteous, that you may commit sin, and yet be children of\nGod.) _He that doth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.\nHe that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the\nbeginning._ Then follows, _Whosoever is born of_ God, _doth not commit\nsin; for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he\nis born of_ God. _In this_, adds the apostle, _the children of_ God\n_are manifest, and the children of the devil_. By this plain mark (the\ncommitting or not committing sin) are they distinguished from each\nother. To the same effect are those words in his fifth chapter, [10]_We\nknow that whosoever is born of_ God, _sinneth not; but he that is\nbegotten of_ God _keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him\nnot_.\n\n7. Another fruit of this living faith is peace. For [11]_being\njustified by faith_, having all our sins blotted out, _we have peace\nwith_ God, _through our_ Lord Jesus Christ. This indeed our Lord\nhimself, the night before his death, solemnly bequeathed to all his\nfollowers. [12]_Peace_, saith he, _I leave with you_; (you who _believe\nin_ God, and _believe also in me_) _my peace I give unto you. Not as\nthe world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,\nneither let it be afraid._ And again, [13]_These things have I spoken\nunto you, that in me ye might have peace_. This is that _peace of_ God,\n_which passeth all understanding_, that serenity of soul, which it hath\nnot entered into the heart of a natural man to conceive, and which it\nis not possible for even the spiritual man to utter. And it is a peace\nwhich all the powers of earth and hell are unable to take from him.\nWaves and storms beat upon it, but they shake it not; for it is founded\nupon a rock. It keepeth the hearts and minds of the children of God,\nat all times and in all places. Whether they are in ease or in pain,\nin sickness or health, in abundance or want, they are happy in God. In\nevery state they have learned to be content, yea, to give thanks unto\nGod through _Christ Jesus_: being well assured, that \u201cWhatsoever is,\nis best;\u201d because it is his will, concerning them. So that in all the\nvicissitudes of life, their _heart standeth fast, believing in the_\nLord.\n\n\nII. 1. A second scriptural mark of those who are born of God is hope.\nThus St. _Peter_, speaking to all the children of God, who were then\n_scattered abroad_, saith, [14]_Blessed be the_ God _and father of our_\nLord Jesus Christ, _who according to his abundant mercy, hath begotten\nus again unto a lively hope_. \u1f18\u03bb\u03c0\u03af\u03b4\u03b1 \u03b6\u1ff6\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd, A _lively_ or _living_ hope,\nsaith the apostle: because there is also a _dead_ hope (as well as a\ndead faith) a hope which is not from God, but from the enemy of God and\nman; as evidently appears by its fruits; for, as it is the offspring of\npride, so it is the parent of every evil word and work, whereas every\nman that hath in him this living hope, is _holy as he that calleth him\nis holy_: every man that can truly say to his \u2666brethren in _Christ,\nBeloved, now are we the sons of_ God, _and we shall see him as he is,\npurifieth himself, even as he is pure_.\n\n2. This hope implies, 1. The testimony of our own spirit or conscience,\nthat we walk _in simplicity and godly sincerity_; secondly, the\ntestimony of the Spirit of God, _bearing witness with_, or to, _our\nspirit, that we are the children of_ God, _and if children, then heirs,\nheirs of_ God and _joint-heirs with_ Christ.\n\n3. Let us well observe, what is here taught us by God himself, touching\nthe glorious privilege of his children. Who is it, that is here said\nto _bear witness_? Not our Spirit only, but another; even the Spirit\nof God: he it is who _beareth witness with our spirit_. What is it, he\nbeareth witness of? _That we are the children of_ God; _and if children,\nthen heirs; heirs of_ God, _and joint-heirs with_ Christ:\u2015\u2015\u2015\u2015_if so be\nthat we suffer with him_ (if we deny ourselves, if we take up our cross\ndaily, if we chearfully indure persecution or reproach for his sake)\n_that we may also be glorified together_, And in whom doth the Spirit\nof God bear this witness? In all who are the children of God. By this\nvery argument does the apostle prove in the preceding verses that they\nare so: [15]_As many_, saith he, _as are led by the Spirit of_ God,\n_they are the sons of_ God. _For ye have not received the Spirit of\nbondage again, to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption,\nwhereby we cry, Abba, Father!_ It follows, _The Spirit itself beareth\nwitness with our spirit, that we are the children of_ God.\n\n4. The variation of the phrase in the 15th verse, is worthy our\nobservation. Ye _have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby_ we _cry,\nAbba, Father_! _Ye_, as many as are the sons of God, have in virtue\nof your sonship, received that self-same Spirit of adoption, whereby\n_we_ cry, Abba, Father. _We_, the apostles, prophets, teachers, (for\nso the word may not improperly be understood) we through whom you have\nbelieved, the _ministers of_ Christ, _and stewards of the mysteries of_\nGod. As _we_ and _you_ have one Lord, so we have one spirit: as we have\none faith, so we have one hope also. We and you are sealed with one\n_Spirit of promise_, the earnest of _yours_ and of _our_ inheritance:\nthe same Spirit, bearing witness with yours and with our spirit, _that\nwe are the children of_ God.\n\n5. And thus is the scripture fulfilled, _Blessed are they that mourn,\nfor they shall be comforted_. For \u2019tis easy to believe, that though\nsorrow may precede this witness of God\u2019s Spirit with our spirit,\n(indeed _must_, in some degree, while we groan under fear, and a sense\nof the wrath of God abiding on us) yet as soon as any man feeleth it\nin himself, his _sorrow is turned into joy_. Whatsoever his pain may\nhave been before, yet as soon as that _hour is come, he remembereth the\nanguish no more, for joy_ that he is born of God. It may be, many of\n_you_ have now sorrow, because you are _aliens from the common-wealth\nof_ Israel; because you are conscious to yourselves that you have not\nthis Spirit, that you are _without hope and without_ God _in the world_.\nBut when the Comforter is come, [16]_then your heart shall rejoice; yea,\nyour joy shall be full_, and _that joy no man taketh from you_. [17]_We\njoy in_ God, will ye say, _through our_ Lord Jesus Christ, _by whom\nwe have now received the atonement: by whom we have access into this\ngrace_, this state of grace, of favour, of reconciliation with God,\n_wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of_ God. Ye, saith\nSt. _Peter_, whom [18]God _hath begotten again unto a lively hope, are\nkept by the power of_ God _unto salvation\u2015\u2015wherein ye greatly rejoice,\nthough now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through\nmanifold temptations: that the trial of your faith\u2015\u2015may be found unto\npraise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of_ Jesus Christ\u2015\u2015_In\nwhom, though now ye see him not, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable\nand full of glory_. Unspeakable indeed! It is not for the tongue\nof man to describe this joy in the Holy Ghost. It is _hidden manna,\nwhich no man knoweth, save he that receiveth it_. But this we know,\nit not only remains, but overflows in the depth of affliction.\n_Are the consolations of_ God _small_ with his children, when all\nearthly comforts fail? Not so. But when sufferings most abound, the\nconsolations of his Spirit do much more abound: insomuch that the sons\nof God _laugh at destruction when it cometh_; at want, pain, hell, and\nthe grave; as knowing him who _hath the keys of death and hell_, and\nwill shortly _cast them into the bottomless pit_: As hearing even now\nthe _great voice out of heaven, saying_, [19]_Behold the tabernacle of_\nGod _is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his\npeople, and_ God _himself shall be with them, and be their_ God. _And_\nGod _shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no\nmore death, neither sorrow, nor crying: neither shall there be any more\npain; for the former things are past away_.\n\n\nIII. 1. A third scriptural mark of those who are born of God, and the\ngreatest of all, is love: even [20]_the love of_ God _shed abroad in\ntheir hearts, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto them_. [21]_Because\nthey are sons_, God _hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into their\nhearts, crying Abba, Father_! by this Spirit, continually looking up to\nGod, as their reconciled and loving Father, they cry to him for their\ndaily bread, for all things needful whether for their souls or bodies.\nThey continually pour out their hearts before him, knowing [22]_they\nhave the petitions which they ask of him_. Their delight is in him. He\nis the joy of their heart; their _shield_, and their _exceeding great\nreward_. The desire of their soul is toward Him: it is their _meat and\ndrink to do his will_: And they are [23]_satisfied as with marrow and\nfatness, while their mouth praiseth him with joyful lips_.\n\n2. And, in this sense also, [24]_every one who loveth him that begat,\nloveth him that is begotten of him_. His spirit rejoiceth in God his\nSaviour. He _loveth the_ Lord Jesus Christ _in sincerity_: he is so\n_joined unto the_ Lord, as to be _one spirit_. His soul hangeth upon\nhim, and chuseth him as altogether lovely, _the chiefest among ten\nthousand_. He knoweth, he feeleth what that means, [25]_My beloved is\nmine, and I am his_, [26]_Thou art fairer than the children of men;\nfull of grace are thy lips, because_ God _hath anointed thee for ever_!\n\n3. The necessary fruit of this love of God, is the love of our\nneighbour, of every soul which God hath made; not excepting our enemies,\nnot excepting those who are now _despitefully using and \u2666persecuting\nus_: a love, whereby we love every man _as ourselves_, as we love our\nown souls. Nay, our Lord has expressed it still more strongly, teaching\nus to _love one another even as he hath loved us_. Accordingly the\ncommandment written in the hearts of all those that love God, is no\nother than this, _As I have loved you, so love ye one another_. Now\n[27]_herein perceive we the love of_ God, _in that he laid down his\nlife for us. We ought_ then, as the apostle justly infers, _to lay\ndown our lives for our brethren_. If we feel ourselves ready to do\nthis, then do we truly love our neighbour. Then [28]_we know that we\nhave passed from death unto life, because we_ thus _love our brethren_.\n[29]_Hereby know we_ that we are born of God, that we _dwell in him,\nand he in us, because he hath given us of his_ loving _Spirit_. For\n[30]_love is of_ God, _and every one that_ thus _loveth, is born of_\nGod _and knoweth_ God.\n\n5. But some may possibly ask, Does not the apostle say, [31]_This is\nthe love of_ God, _that we keep his commandments_? Yea; and this is\nthe love of our neighbour also, in the same sense as it is the love\nof God. But what would you infer from hence? That the keeping the\noutward commandments is all that is implied in loving God with all\nyour heart, with all your mind, and soul, and strength, and in loving\nyour neighbour as yourself? That the love of God is not an affection\nof the soul, but merely an _outward service_? And that the love of\nour neighbour is not a disposition of heart, but barely a course of\n_outward works_! To mention so wild an interpretation of the apostle\u2019s\nwords, is sufficiently to confute it. The plain indisputable meaning of\nthat text is, _This is the_ sign or proof of the _love of_ God, of our\nkeeping the first and great commandment, to keep all the rest of his\ncommandments. For true love, if it be once shed abroad in our heart,\nwill constrain us so to do: since whosoever loves God with all his\nheart, cannot but serve him with all his strength.\n\n5. A second fruit then of the love of God, (so far as it can be\ndistinguished from it) is universal obedience to him we love, and\nconformity to his will: obedience to all the commands of God, internal\nand external: obedience of the heart and of the life, in every\ntemper, and in all manner of conversation. And one of the tempers most\nobviously implied herein is, the being _zealous of good works_; the\nhungring and thirsting to do good, in every possible kind, unto all\nmen; the rejoicing to _spend and be spent for them_, for every child\nof man, not looking for any recompence in this world, but only in the\nresurrection of the just.\n\n\nIV. 1. Thus have I plainly laid down those marks of the new-birth,\nwhich I find laid down in scripture. Thus doth God himself answer that\nweighty question, What it is to be born of God? Such, if the appeal be\nmade to the oracles of God, is _every one that is born of the Spirit_.\nThis it is, in the judgment of the Spirit of God, to be a son or a\nchild of God. It is, so to believe in God thro\u2019 _Christ_, as _not to\ncommit sin_, and to enjoy at all times and in all places, that _peace\nof_ God _which passeth all understanding_. It is, so to _hope_ in God\n\u2666through the Son of his love, as to have not only the _testimony of a\ngood conscience_, but also the Spirit of God _bearing witness with your\nspirits, that ye are the children of_ God; whence cannot but spring,\nthe _rejoicing in him through whom ye have received the atonement_.\nIt is so to _love_ God, who hath thus loved you, as you never did love\nany creature: so that ye are constrained to love all men as yourselves;\nwith a love not only ever burning in your hearts, but flaming out in\nall your actions and conversations, and making your whole life one\n_labour of love_, one continued obedience to those commands, _Be ye\nmerciful, as_ God _is merciful; Be ye holy, as I the_ Lord _am holy;\nBe ye perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect_.\n\n2. Who then are ye that are thus born of God? Ye _know the things which\nare given to you of_ God. Ye well know, that ye are the children of\nGod, and _can assure your hearts before him_. And every one of you who\nhas observed these words, cannot but feel and know of a truth, whether\nat this hour, (answer to God and not to man!) you are thus a child\nof God or no? The question is not, what you was made in baptism: (do\nnot evade:) but, what you are now? Is the Spirit of adoption now in\nyour heart? To your own heart let the appeal \u2666be made. I ask not,\nwhether you _was_ born of water and of the Spirit. *But _are_ you\n_now_ the temple of the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in you? I allow\nyou _was circumcised with the circumcision of_ Christ, (as St. _Paul_\nemphatically terms baptism) but does the Spirit of _Christ_ and of\nglory _now_ rest upon you? Else _your circumcision is become\nuncircumcision_.\n\n3. Say not then in your heart, I _was once_ baptized, therefore I _am\nnow_ a child of God? Alas, that consequence will by no means hold. How\nmany are the baptized gluttons and drunkards, the baptized liars and\ncommon swearers, the baptized railers and evil-speakers, the baptized\nwhoremongers, thieves, extortioners? What think you? Are these now the\nchildren of God? Verily I say unto you, whosoever you are, unto whom\nany one of the preceding characters belong, _ye are of your father the\ndevil, and the works of your father ye do_. Unto you I call in the name\nof him whom you crucify afresh, and in his words to your circumcised\npredecessors, _Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape\nthe damnation of hell_?\n\n4. How indeed, except ye be born again! For ye are now dead in\ntrespasses and sins. To say then, that ye cannot be born again,\nthat there is no new-birth but in baptism, is to seal you all under\ndamnation, to consign you to hell, without help, without hope. And\nperhaps some may think this just and right. In their zeal for the Lord\nof Hosts, they may say, \u201cYea, cut off the sinners, the _Amalekites_!\nLet these _Gibeonites_ be utterly destroyed! They deserve no less.\u201d\u2015\u2015No;\nnor I: nor you.\u2015\u2015Mine and your desert, as well as theirs, is hell.\nAnd it is mere mercy, free undeserved mercy, that _we_ are not now in\nunquenchable fire. You will say, \u201cBut we are washed, we were born again\nof water and of the Spirit.\u201d So _were_ they. This therefore hinders not\nat all, but that ye may _now_ be even as they. Know ye not, that _what\nis highly esteemed of men is an abomination in the sight of_ God? Come\nforth, ye \u201csaints of the world,\u201d ye that are honoured of men, and see\nwho will cast the first stone at them, at these wretches, not fit to\nlive upon the earth, these common harlots, adulterers, murderers. Only\nlearn ye first what that meaneth, [32]_He that hateth his brother is\na murderer_.\u2015\u2015[33]_He that looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath\ncommitted adultery with her already in his heart._\u2015\u2015[34]_Ye adulterers\nand adulteresses, know ye not, that the friendship of the world, is\nenmity with_ God?\n\n5. _Verily, verily, I say unto you, ye_ also _must be born again.\nExcept_ ye also _be born again, ye cannot see the kingdom of_ God. Lean\nno more on the staff of that broken reed, that ye _were_ born again\nin baptism. Who denies that ye were then made \u201cchildren of God, and\nheirs of the kingdom of heaven?\u201d But notwithstanding this, ye are now\nchildren of the devil. Therefore ye must be born again. And let not\n_Satan_ put it into your heart, to cavil at a word, when the thing is\nclear. Ye have heard, what are the marks of the children of God: all\nye who have them not on your souls, baptized or unbaptized, must needs\nreceive them, or without doubt ye will perish everlastingly. And if ye\nhave been baptized, your only hope is this, that those who were made\nthe children of God by baptism, but are now the children of the devil,\nmay yet again receive _power, to become the sons of_ God: that they may\nreceive again what they have lost, even the _Spirit of adoption, crying\nin their hearts, Abba, Father_!\n\n6. Amen, Lord Jesus! May every one who prepareth his heart yet again\nto seek thy face, receive again that Spirit of adoption, and cry out,\nAbba, Father! Let him now again have power, so to believe in thy name,\nas to become a child of God; as to know and feel he hath _redemption\nin thy blood even the forgiveness of sins_, and that he _cannot commit\nsin, because he is born of_ God. Let him be now _begotten again unto a\nliving hope_, so as to _purify himself, as thou art pure_! And _because\nhe is a son_, let the Spirit of love and of glory rest upon him,\ncleansing him _from all filthiness of flesh and spirit_, and teaching\nhim _to perfect holiness in the fear of_ God!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XIX.\n\n THE GREAT PRIVILEGE OF THOSE THAT ARE BORN OF GOD.\n 1 JOHN iii. 9.\n\n\n _Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin._\n\n1. IT has been frequently supposed, that the being born of God was all\none with the being justified; that the new birth and justification were\nonly different expressions, denoting the same thing: it being certain\non the one hand, that whoever is justified, is also born of God; and\non the other, that whoever is born of God, is also justified: yea, that\nboth these gifts of God are given to every believer in one and the same\nmoment. In one point of time his sins are blotted out, and he is born\nagain of God.\n\n2. But though it be allowed, that justification and the new birth\nare in point of time inseparable from each other, yet are they easily\ndistinguished, as being not the same, but things of a widely different\nnature. Justification implies only a relative, the new birth a real\nchange. God in justifying us, does something _for_ us: in begetting\nus again, he does the work _in_ us. The former changes our outward\nrelation to God, so that of enemies we become children. By the latter,\nour inmost souls are changed, so that of sinners we become saints. The\none restores us to the favour, the other to the image of God. The one\nis, the taking away the guilt, the other, the taking away the power of\nsin. So that although they are joined together in point of time, yet\nare they of wholly distinct natures.\n\n3. The not discerning this, the not observing the wide difference\nthere is, between being justified and being born again, has occasioned\nexceeding great confusion of thought, in many who have treated on this\nsubject: particularly when they have attempted to explain this great\nprivilege of the children of God; to shew how _whosoever is born of_\nGod, _doth not commit sin_.\n\n4. In order to apprehend this clearly, it may be necessary, first, to\nconsider what is the proper meaning of that expression, _Whosoever is\nborn of_ God; and, secondly, to enquire, in what sense he _doth not\ncommit sin_.\n\n\nI. 1. First, we are to consider, what is the proper meaning of that\nexpression, _Whosoever is born of_ God. And in general, from all the\npassages of holy writ, wherein this expression the being _born of_ God,\noccurs, we may learn that it implies not barely the being baptized, or\nany outward change whatever; but a vast inward change, a change wrought\nin the soul, by the operation of the Holy Ghost: a change in the whole\nmanner of our existence; for from the moment we are _born of_ God, we\nlive in quite another manner than we did before; we are, as it were, in\nanother world.\n\n2. The ground and reason of the expression, is easy to be understood.\nWhen we undergo this great change, we may with much propriety be said\n_to be born again_, because there is so near a resemblance between the\ncircumstances of the natural and of the spiritual birth: so that to\nconsider the circumstances of the natural birth, is the most easy way\nto understand the spiritual.\n\n3. The child which is not yet born, subsists indeed by the air, as does\nevery thing which has life; but _feels_ it not, nor any thing else,\nunless in a very dull and imperfect manner. It _hears_ little, if at\nall, the organs of hearing being as yet closed up. It _sees_ nothing,\nhaving its eyes fast shut, and being surrounded with utter darkness.\nThere are, it may be, some faint beginnings of life, when the time of\nits birth draws nigh; and some motion consequent thereon, whereby it is\ndistinguished from a mere mass of matter. But it has no _senses_; all\nthese avenues of the soul are hitherto quite shut up. Of consequence,\nit has scarce any intercourse with this visible world; nor any\nknowledge, conception or idea, of the things that occur therein.\n\n4. The reason why he that is not yet born, is wholly a stranger to\nthe visible world, is, not because it is afar off. It is very nigh.\nIt surrounds him on every side. But partly, because he has not those\nsenses, they are not yet opened in his soul, whereby alone it is\npossible to hold commerce with the material world; and partly because\nso thick a veil is cast between, through which he can discern nothing.\n\n5. But no sooner is the child born into the world, than he exists\nin a quite different manner. He now _feels_ the air with which he is\nsurrounded, and which pours into him from every side, as fast as he\nalternately breathes it back, to sustain the flame of life. And hence\nsprings a continual increase of strength, of motion and of sensation:\nall the bodily senses being now awakened, and furnished with their\nproper objects.\n\n*His eyes are now opened to perceive the light, which silently flowing\nin upon them, discovers not only itself, but an infinite variety of\nthings, with which before he was wholly unacquainted. His ears are\nunclosed, and sounds rush in, with endless diversity. Every sense is\nemployed upon such objects as are peculiarly suitable to it. And by\nthese inlets, the soul having an open intercourse with the visible\nworld, acquires more and more knowledge of sensible things, of all the\nthings which are under the sun.\n\n6. *So it is with him that is born of God. Before that great change\nis wrought, although he subsists by him, in whom all that have life\n_live and move and have their being_, yet he is not _sensible_ of God;\nhe does not _feel_, he has no inward consciousness of his presence. He\ndoes not perceive that divine breath of life, without which he cannot\nsubsist a moment. Nor is he sensible of any of the things of God. They\nmake no impression upon his soul. God is continually calling to him\nfrom on high, but he heareth not; his ears are shut; so that _the voice\nof the charmer_ is lost to him, _charm he never so wisely_. He seeth\nnot the things of the Spirit of God, the eyes of his understanding\nbeing closed, and utter darkness covering his whole soul, surrounding\nhim on every side. It is true, he may have some faint dawnings of\nlife, some small beginnings of spiritual motion; but as yet he has no\nspiritual senses, capable of discerning spiritual objects. Consequently\nhe _discerneth not the things of the Spirit of_ God. _He cannot know\nthem; because they are spiritually discerned._\n\n7. *Hence he has scarce any knowledge of the invisible world, as he\nhas scarce any intercourse with it. Not that it is afar off. No: he is\nin the midst of it: it incompasses him round about. The _other world_,\nas we usually term it, is not far from every one of us. It is above,\nand beneath, and on every side. Only the natural man discerneth it\nnot; partly, because he has no spiritual senses, whereby alone we\ncan discern the things of God; partly, because so thick a veil is\ninterposed, as he knows not how to penetrate.\n\n8. *But when he is born of God, born of the Spirit, how is the manner\nof his existence changed? His whole soul is now sensible of God, and he\ncan say by sure experience, _Thou art about my bed, and about my path_;\nI feel thee _in all my ways_. Thou _besettest me behind and before, and\nlayest thy hand upon me_. The Spirit or breath of God is immediately\ninspired, breathed into the new-born soul. And the same breath, which\ncomes from, returns to God: as it is continually received by faith,\nso it is continually rendered back by love, by prayer, and praise,\nand thanksgiving: love and praise and prayer being the breath of every\nsoul which is truly born of God. And by this new kind of spiritual\nrespiration, spiritual life is not only sustained, but increased day\nby day; together with spiritual strength and motion and sensation. All\nthe senses of the soul being now awake, and capable of _discerning_\nspiritual _good and evil_.\n\n9. *_The eyes of his understanding_ are now _open_, and he _seeth him\nthat is invisible_. He sees what is _the exceeding greatness of his\npower_, and of his love toward them that believe. He sees that God is\nmerciful to him a sinner; that he is reconciled through the Son of his\nlove. He clearly perceives both the pardoning love of God, and all his\n_exceeding great and precious promises_. God _who commanded the light\nto shine out of darkness, hath shined_, and doth shine, _in_ his _heart,\nto enlighten him with the knowledge of the glory of_ God, _in the face\nof_ Jesus Christ. All the darkness is now passed away, and he abides in\nthe light of God\u2019s countenance.\n\n10. *His ears are now opened, and the voice of God no longer calls in\nvain. He hears and obeys the heavenly calling: he _knows the voice of\nhis Shepherd_. All his spiritual senses being now awakened, he has a\nclear intercourse with the invisible world. And hence he knows more and\nmore of the things which before _it could not enter into his heart to\nconceive_. He now knows what the peace of God is: what is joy in the\nHoly Ghost: what the love of God which is shed abroad in the hearts of\nthem that believe in him through _Christ Jesus_. Thus the veil being\nremoved, which before intercepted the light and voice, the knowledge\nand love of God, he who is born of the Spirit, _dwelleth in love,\ndwelleth in_ God, _and_ God _in him_.\n\n\nII. 1. Having considered the meaning of that expression, _whosoever is\nborn of_ God, it remains in the second place to enquire, in what sense\nhe _doth not commit sin_.\n\n*Now one who is so born of God as hath been above described, who\ncontinually receives into his soul the breath of life from God, the\ngracious influence of his Spirit, and continually renders it back:\none who thus believes and loves; who by faith perceives the continual\nactings of God upon his spirit; and by a kind of spiritual re-action,\nreturns the grace he receives in unceasing love, and praise, and prayer;\nnot only _doth not commit sin_, while _he_ thus _keepeth himself_; but\nso long as this _seed remaineth in him_, he _cannot sin_, because he is\nborn of God.\n\n2. *By _sin_, I here understand, outward sin, according to the plain,\ncommon acceptation of the word: an actual, voluntary _transgression\nof the law_; of the revealed, written law of God, of any commandment\nof God, acknowledged to be such, at the time that it is transgressed.\nBut _whosoever is born of God_, while he abideth in faith and love,\nand in the spirit of prayer and thanksgiving, not only _doth not_, but\n_cannot_ thus _commit sin_. So long as he thus believeth in God through\n_Christ_, and loves him, and is pouring out his heart before him, he\ncannot voluntarily transgress any command of God, either by speaking\nor acting what he knows God hath forbidden. So long that _seed_ which\n_remaineth in him_, that loving, praying thankful faith, compels him to\nrefrain from whatsoever he knows to be an abomination in the sight of\nGod.\n\n3. But here a difficulty will immediately occur; and one, that to many\nhas appeared insuperable, and induced them to deny the plain assertion\nof the apostle, and give up the privilege of the children of God.\n\nIt is plain in fact, that those whom we cannot deny to have been truly\n_born of_ God (the Spirit of God having given us in his word, this\ninfallible testimony concerning them) nevertheless not only could, but\ndid commit sin, even gross, outward sin. They did transgress the plain,\nknown laws of God, speaking or acting what they knew he had forbidden.\n\n4. Thus _David_ was unquestionably born of God, or ever he was anointed\nking over _Israel_. He knew in whom he had believed; he was strong in\nfaith, giving glory to God. [35]_The_ Lord, saith he, _is my shepherd;\ntherefore can I lack nothing. He shall feed me in green pastures,\nand lead me forth beside the waters of comfort._ Yea, _though I walk\nthrough the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for\nthou art with me_. He was filled with love; such as often constrained\nhim to cry, out, [36]_I will love thee_, O Lord, _my_ God: _the_ Lord\n_is my stony rock, and my defence, the horn also of my salvation, and\nmy refuge_. He was a man of prayer, pouring out his soul before God,\nin all circumstances of life; and abundant in praises and thanksgiving;\n[37]_Thy praise_, saith he, _shall be ever in my mouth_. [38]_Thou art\nmy_ God, _and I will thank thee; thou art my_ God _and I will praise\nthee_. And yet such a child of God could and did commit sin; yea, the\nhorrid sins of adultery and murder.\n\n5. And even after the Holy Ghost was more largely given, after\n_life and immortality_ were _brought to light by the gospel_, we\nwant not instances of the same melancholy kind, which were also\ndoubtless written for our instruction. Thus he who (probably from his\n[39]_selling_ all that he had, and _bringing the price_ for the relief\nof his poor brethren) was _by the apostles_ themselves _sirnamed_\nBarnabas, that is, _the son of consolation_; who was so honoured at\n_Antioch_, as to be selected with _Saul_ out of all _the disciples_, to\ncarry their [40]_relief unto the brethren in_ Judea: this _Barnabas_,\nwho at his return from _Judea_, was by the peculiar direction of the\nHoly Ghost, solemnly [41]_separated from the_ other _prophets and\nteachers, for the work whereunto God had called him_, even to accompany\nthe great apostle among the Gentiles, and to be his fellow-labourer\nin every place; nevertheless was afterward so [42]_sharp_ in his\n_contention_ with St. _Paul_ (because he _thought it not good to take\nwith them_ John, in his _visiting the brethren_, a second time, _who\nhad departed from them from_ Pamphylia, _and went not with them to\nthe work_) that he himself also departed from the work; that he _took_\nJohn, _and sailed unto_ Cyprus; forsaking him to whom he had been in so\nimmediate a manner joined by the Holy Ghost.\n\n6. An instance more astonishing than both these is given by St. _Paul_\nin his epistle to the _Galatians_. _When_ Peter, the zealous, the first\nof the apostles; one of the three most highly favoured by his Lord;\n_was come to_ Antioch, _I withstood him to the face, because he was\nto be blamed. For before that certain came from_ James, _he did eat\nwith the Gentiles_, the Heathens converted to the Christian faith,\nas having been peculiarly taught of God, that [43]he _should not call\nany man common or unclean_. But [44]_when they were come, he separated\nhimself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. And the other\nJews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that_ Barnabas _also was\ncarried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked\nnot uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto_ Peter\n_before them all, If thou being a Jew, livest after the manner of the\nGentiles_, not regarding the ceremonial law of _Moses, why compellest\nthou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews_? Here is also plain,\nundeniable sin, committed by one who was undoubtedly _born of God_. But\nhow can this be reconciled with the assertion of St. _John_, if taken\nin the obvious literal meaning, that _whosoever is born of God, doth\nnot commit sin_?\n\n7. I answer, what has been long observed is this: so long as _he that\nis born of God keepeth himself_ (which he is able to do by the grace of\nGod) _the wicked one toucheth him not_. But if he keepeth not himself,\nif he abideth not in the faith, he may commit sin even as another man.\n\nIt is easy therefore to understand, how any of these children of God\nmight be moved from his own stedfastness, and yet the great truth of\nGod, declared, by the apostle, remain stedfast and unshaken. He did\nnot _keep himself_, by that grace of God which was sufficient for him.\nHe fell, step by step, first into negative, inward sin, not _stirring\nup the gift of God_ which was in him, not _watching unto prayer_, not\n_pressing on to the mark of the prize of his high calling_: then into\npositive inward sin, inclining to wickedness with his heart, giving way\nto some evil desire or temper. Next, he lost his faith, his sight of\na pardoning God, and consequently his love of God. And being then weak\nand like another man, he was capable of committing even outward sin.\n\n8. To explain this by a particular instance: _David_ was born of God,\nand saw God by faith. He loved God in sincerity. He could truly say,\n_Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon earth_ (neither\nperson, nor thing) _that I desire in comparison of thee_! But still\nthere remained in his heart that corruption of nature, which is the\nseed of all evil.\n\nHe was [45]_walking upon the roof of his house_, probably praising the\nGod whom his soul loved, when he looked down and saw _Bathsheba_. He\nfelt a temptation, a thought which tended to evil. The Spirit of God\ndid not fail to convince him of this. He doubtless heard and knew the\nwarning voice. But he yielded in some measure to the thought, and the\ntemptation began to prevail over him. Hereby his spirit was sullied; he\nsaw God still; but it was more dimly than before. He loved God still;\nbut not in the same degree, not with the same strength and ardor of\naffection. Yet God checked him again, though his Spirit was grieved;\nand his voice, though fainter and fainter, still whispered, \u201cSin lieth\nat the door; look unto me, and be thou saved.\u201d But he would not hear.\nHe looked again, not unto God, but unto the forbidden object, \u2019till\nnature was superior to grace, and kindled lust in his soul.\n\n*The eye of his mind was now closed again, and God vanished out of\nhis sight. Faith, the divine, supernatural intercourse with God, and\nthe love of God ceased together. He then rushed on as a horse into the\nbattle, and knowingly committed the outward sin.\n\n9. *You see the unquestionable progress from grace to sin. Thus it goes\non, from step to step. 1. The divine seed of loving, conquering faith,\nremains in him that is _born of God. He keepeth himself_, by the grace\nof God, and _cannot commit sin_. 2. A temptation arises, whether from\nthe world, the flesh, or the devil, it matters not. 3. The Spirit of\nGod gives him warning that sin is near, and bids him more abundantly\nwatch unto prayer. 4. He gives way in some degree to the temptation,\nwhich now begins to grow pleasing to him. 5. The Holy Spirit is grieved;\nhis faith is weakened, and his love of God grows cold. 6. The Spirit\nreproves him more sharply, and saith, \u201cThis is the way; walk thou in\nit.\u201d 7. He turns away from the painful voice of God, and listens to\nthe pleasing voice of the tempter. 8. Evil desire begins and spreads\nin his soul, \u2019till faith and love vanish away. He is then capable of\ncommitting outward sin, the power of the Lord being departed from him.\n\n10. To explain this by another instance. The apostle _Peter_ was full\nof faith and of the Holy Ghost; and hereby keeping himself, he had a\nconscience void of offence toward God and toward man.\n\nWalking thus in simplicity and godly sincerity, _before that certain\ncame from_ James, _he did eat with the Gentiles_, knowing that what God\nhad cleansed, was not common or unclean.\n\nBut _when they were come_, a temptation arose in his heart, _to fear\nthose of the circumcision_, (the _Jewish_ converts, who were zealous\nfor circumcision and the other rites of the _Mosaic_ law) and regard\nthe favour and praise of these men, more than the praise of God.\n\nHe was warned by the Spirit that sin was near. Nevertheless he yielded\nto it in some degree, even to sinful fear of man, and his faith and\nlove were proportionably weakened.\n\nGod reproved him again for giving place to the devil. Yet he would\nnot hearken to the voice of his Shepherd; but gave himself up to that\nslavish fear, and thereby quenched the Spirit.\n\nThen God disappeared, and faith and love being extinct, he committed\nthe outward sin. _Walking not uprightly_, not _according to the truth\nof the gospel_, he _separated himself_ from his Christian brethren, and\nby his evil example, if not advice also, _compelled_ even _the Gentiles\nto live after the manner of the Jews_; to entangle themselves again\nwith that _yoke of bondage_, from which _Christ had set them free_.\n\nThus it is unquestionably true, that he who is born of God, keeping\nhimself, doth not, cannot commit sin; and yet, if he keepeth not\nhimself, he may commit all manner of sin with greediness.\n\n\nIII. 1. From the preceding considerations we may learn, first, To give\na clear and incontestible answer, to a question which has frequently\nperplex many, who were sincere of heart. Does sin precede or follow the\nloss of faith? \u201cDoes a child of God first commit sin, and thereby lose\nhis faith? Or does he lose his faith first, before he can commit sin?\u201d\n\n*I answer, some sin of omission at least, must necessarily precede the\nloss of faith: some inward sin. But the loss of faith must precede the\ncommitting outward sin.\n\n*The more any believer examines his own heart, the more will he be\nconvinced of this: that _faith working by love_, excludes both inward\nand outward sin from a soul _watching unto prayer_: that nevertheless\nwe are even then liable to temptation, particularly to the sin that\ndid easily beset us: that if the loving eye of the soul be steddily\nfixed on God, the temptation soon vanishes away: but if not, if we are\n[46]\u1f10\u03be\u03b5\u03bb\u03ba\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, (as the apostle _James_ speaks) _drawn out_ of God by\nour _own desire_, and \u03b4\u03b5\u03bb\u03b5\u03b1\u03b6\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9, _caught by the bait_ of present or\npromised pleasure: then that _desire conceived_ in us, _brings forth\nsin_; and having by that inward sin destroyed our faith, it casts us\nheadlong into the snare of the devil, so that we may commit any outward\nsin whatever.\n\n2. *From what has been said, we may learn, secondly, what the life of\nGod in the soul of a believer is; wherein it properly consists; and\nwhat is immediately and necessarily implied therein. It immediately and\nnecessarily implies, the continual inspiration of God\u2019s holy Spirit:\nGod\u2019s breathing into the soul, and the soul\u2019s breathing back what\nit first receives from God: a continual action of God upon the soul,\nand re-action of the soul upon God: an unceasing presence of God, the\nloving, pardoning God, manifested to the heart, and perceived by faith;\nand an unceasing return of love, praise, and prayer, offering up all\nthe thoughts of our hearts, all the words of our tongues, all the works\nof our hands, all our body, soul, and spirit, to be an holy sacrifice,\nacceptable unto God in _Christ Jesus_.\n\n3. *And hence we may, thirdly, infer, the absolute necessity of\nthis re-action of the soul (whatsoever it be called) in order to the\ncontinuance of the divine life therein. For it plainly appears, God\ndoes not continue to act upon the soul, unless the soul re-acts upon\nGod. He prevents us indeed with the blessings of his goodness. He first\nloves us, and manifests himself unto us. While we are yet afar, he\ncalls us to himself, and shines upon our hearts. But if we do not then\nlove him who first loved us, if we will not hearken to his voice; if\nwe turn our eye away from him, and will not attend to the light which\nhe pours upon us: his Spirit will not always strive; he will gradually\nwithdraw, and leave us to the darkness of our own hearts. He will not\ncontinue to breathe into our soul, unless our soul breathes toward him\nagain; unless our love, and prayer, and thanksgiving return to him, a\nsacrifice wherewith he is well pleased.\n\n4. Let us learn, lastly, to follow that direction of the great apostle,\n_Be not high-minded, but fear_. Let us fear sin, more than death or\nhell. Let us have a jealous (though not painful) fear, lest we should\nlean to our own deceitful hearts. _Let him that standeth take heed lest\nhe fall._ Even he who now standeth fast in the grace of God, in the\n_faith_ that _overcometh the world_, may nevertheless fall into inward\nsin, and thereby _make shipwreck of his faith_. And how easily then\nwill outward sin regain its dominion over him? Thou therefore, O man of\nGod, watch always; that thou mayest always hear the voice of God. Watch\nthat thou mayest pray without ceasing, at all times and in all places,\npouring out thine heart before him. So shalt thou always believe, and\nalways love, and never commit sin.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XX.\n\n THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.\n JEREMIAH xxiii. 6.\n\n\n _This is his name, whereby he shall be called_,\n THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.\n\n1. HOW dreadful, and how innumerable are the contests, which have\narisen about religion? And not only among the children of this world,\namong those who knew not what true religion was: but even among the\nchildren of God, those who had experienced _the kingdom of_ God _within\nthem_, who had tasted of _righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy\nGhost_? How many of these in all ages, instead of joining together\nagainst the common enemy, have turned their weapons against each other,\nand so not only wasted their precious time, but hurt one anothers\nspirits, weakened each others hands, and so hindered the great work of\ntheir common Master! How many of the weak have hereby been offended?\nHow many of the _lame turned out of the way_? How many sinners\nconfirmed in their disregard of all religion, and their contempt of\nthose that profess it? And how many of _the excellent ones upon earth_\nhave been constrained to _weep in secret places_?\n\n2. What would not every lover of God and his neighbour do, what would\nhe not suffer to remedy this sore evil? To remove contention from the\nchildren of God? To restore or preserve peace among them? What but\na good conscience would he think too dear to part with, in order to\npromote this valuable end? And suppose we cannot _make_ these _wars\nto cease in all the world_, suppose we cannot reconcile all the\nchildren of God to each other, however let each do what he can, let\nhim contribute if it be but two mites, toward it. Happy are they who\nare able in any degree to promote _peace and good will among men_!\nEspecially among good men: among those that are all listed under the\nbanner of _the Prince of peace_; and are therefore peculiarly engaged,\n_as much as lies in them_, to _live peaceably with all men_.\n\n3. It would be a considerable step toward this glorious end, if\nwe could bring good men to understand one another. Abundance of\ndisputes arise purely from the want of this, from mere misapprehension.\nFrequently neither of the contending parties understands what his\nopponent means; whence it follows, that each violently attack the\nother, while there is no real difference between them. And yet it\nis not always an easy matter, to convince them of this. Particularly\nwhen their passions are moved: it is then attended with the utmost\ndifficulty. However it is not impossible: especially when we attempt it,\nnot trusting in ourselves, but having all our dependence upon him, with\nwhom all things are possible. How soon is he able to disperse the cloud,\nto shine upon their hearts, and to enable them, both to understand each\nother, and _the truth as it is in Jesus_!\n\n4. One very considerable article of this truth is contained in the\nwords above recited, _This is his_ name whereby he shall be called,\n_The Lord our righteousness_: a truth this, which enters deep into\nthe nature of Christianity, and in a manner supports the whole frame\nof it. Of this undoubtedly may be affirmed, what Luther affirms\nof a truth closely connected with it, it is _Articulus stantis vel\ncadentis ecclesi\u00e6_: the Christian church stands or falls with it. It\nis certainly the pillar and ground of that faith, of which alone cometh\nsalvation: of that _Catholic_ or universal faith, which is found in all\nthe children of GOD, and which \u201cunless a man keep whole and undefiled,\nwithout doubt he shall perish everlastingly.\u201d\n\n5. Might not one therefore reasonably expect, that however they\ndiffered in others, all those who name the name of Christ, should agree\nin this point? But how far is this from being the case? There is scarce\nany wherein they are so little agreed: wherein those who all profess\nto follow Christ, seem so widely and irreconcileably to differ. I say\n_seem_; because I am throughly convinced, that many of them only seem\nto differ. The disagreement is more in words than in sentiments: they\nare much nearer in judgment than in language. A wide difference in\nlanguage there certainly is, not only between protestants and papists,\nbut between protestant and protestant; yea, even between those who all\nbelieve justification by faith; who agree, as well in this, as every\nother fundamental doctrine of the gospel.\n\n6. But if the difference be more in _opinion_ than real _experience_,\nand more in _expression_ than in _opinion_, how can it be, that even\nthe children of God should so vehemently contend with each other on the\npoint? Several reasons may be assigned for this; the chief is their not\nunderstanding one another; joined with too keen an attachment to their\n_opinions_, and particular modes of _expression_.\n\nIn order to remove this, at least in some measure, in order to our\nunderstanding one another on this head, I shall by the help of God\nendeavour to shew,\n\n I. What is the righteousness of Christ;\n\n II. When, and in what sense, it is imputed to us:\n\nAnd conclude with a short and plain application.\n\n\nAnd I. What is the righteousness of Christ? It is twofold, either his\ndivine or his human righteousness.\n\n1. His divine righteousness belongs to his divine nature, as he is \u1f49 \u1f60\u03bd.\n_He that existeth, over all_, God, _blessed for ever_: the supreme, the\neternal: \u201cEqual with the Father, as touching his godhead, tho\u2019 inferior\nto the Father, as touching his manhood.\u201d Now this is his eternal,\nessential, immutable holiness; his infinite justice, mercy and truth:\nin all which _he and the Father are one_.\n\nBut I do not apprehend that the divine righteousness of Christ, is\nimmediately concerned in the present question. I believe few, if any,\ndo now contend, for the _imputation_ of _this_ righteousness to us.\nWhoever believes the doctrine of imputation, understand it chiefly, if\nnot solely of his human righteousness.\n\n2. The _human righteousness_ of Christ, belongs to him in his\nhuman nature; as he is _the Mediator between_ God _and man, the man\nChrist Jesus_. This is either _internal_ or _external_. His internal\nrighteousness is the image of God, stampt on every power and faculty\nof his soul. It is a copy of his divine righteousness, so far as it can\nbe imparted to a human spirit. It is a transcript of the divine purity,\nthe divine justice, mercy and truth. It includes love, reverence,\nresignation to his Father; humility, meekness, gentleness; love to lost\nmankind, and every other holy and heavenly temper: and all these in the\nhighest degree, without any defect, or mixture of unholiness.\n\n3. It was the least part of his _external righteousness_, that he\ndid nothing amiss: that he knew no outward sin of any kind, neither\nwas _guile found in his mouth_: that he never spoke one improper\nword, nor did one improper action. Thus far it is only a _negative_\nrighteousness, tho\u2019 such an one as never did, nor ever can belong\nto any one that is born of a woman, save himself alone. But even\nhis outward _righteousness_ was _positive_ too. _He did all things\nwell._ In every word of his tongue, in every work of his hands, he did\nprecisely the _will of him that sent him_. In the whole course of his\nlife, he did the will of God on earth, as the angels do it in heaven.\nAll he acted and spoke was exactly right in every circumstance. The\nwhole and every part of his obedience was complete. _He fulfilled all\nrighteousness._\n\n4. But his obedience implied more than all this: it implied not only\ndoing, but suffering: suffering the whole will of God, from the time\nhe came into the world, till _he bore our sins in his own body upon\nthe tree_: yea, till having made a full atonement for them, _he_ bowed\nhis head, and gave up the ghost. This is usually termed the _passive_\nrighteousness of Christ, the former, his _active_ righteousness. But\nas the active and passive righteousness of Christ were never in fact\nseparated from each other, so we never need separate them at all,\nin speaking or even thinking. And it is with regard to both these\nconjointly, that Jesus is called _The Lord our righteousness_.\n\n\nII. But when is it, that any of us may truly say, _The Lord our\nrighteousness_? In other words, when is it that the righteousness of\nChrist is _imputed_ to us, and in what sense is it imputed?\n\n1. Look thro\u2019 all the world, and all the men therein are either\nbelievers or unbelievers. The first thing then which admits of\nno dispute among reasonable men is this. To all believers the\nrighteousness of Christ is imputed; to unbelievers it is not.\n\n\u201cBut when is it imputed?\u201d When they believe. In that very hour the\nrighteousness of Christ is theirs. It is imputed to every one that\nbelieves, as soon as he believes: faith and the righteousness of Christ\nare inseparable. For if he believes according to scripture, he believes\nin the righteousness of Christ. There is no true faith, that is,\njustifying faith, which hath not the righteousness of Christ for its\nobject.\n\n2. It is true, believers may not all speak alike; they may not all use\nthe same language. It is not to be expected that they should: we cannot\nreasonably require it of them. A thousand circumstances may cause them\nto vary from each other, in the manner of expressing themselves. But\na difference of expression does not necessarily imply a difference\nof sentiment. Different persons may use different expressions, and\nyet mean the same thing. Nothing is more common than this, although\nwe seldom make sufficient allowance for it. Nay, it is not easy for\nthe same persons, when they speak of the same thing at a considerable\ndistance of time, to use exactly the same expressions, even though they\nretain the same sentiments. How then can we be rigorous, in requiring\nothers, to use just the same expressions with us?\n\n3. We may go a step farther yet. Men may differ from us, in their\nopinions as well as their expressions, and nevertheless be partakers\nwith us, of the same precious faith. \u2019Tis possible they may not have\na _distinct apprehension_, of the very blessing which they enjoy.\nTheir _ideas_ may not be so _clear_, and yet their experience may\nbe as sound as ours. There is a wide difference between the natural\nfaculties of men, their understandings, in particular. And that\ndifference is exceedingly increased, by the manner of their education.\nIndeed this alone may occasion an inconceivable difference, in their\nopinions of various kinds. And why not, upon this head, as well as on\nany other? But still, though their opinions as well as expressions, may\nbe confused and inaccurate, their hearts may cleave to God through the\nSon of his love, and be truly interested in his righteousness.\n\n4. Let us then make all that allowance to others, which were we in\ntheir place, we should desire for ourselves. Who is ignorant (to touch\nagain on that circumstance only) of the amazing power of education? And\nwho that knows it, can expect, suppose, a member of the church of Rome,\neither to think or speak clearly on this subject? And yet if we had\nheard even dying Bellarmine cry out, when he was asked, \u201c_Unto which\nof the saints wilt thou turn?_\u201d \u201c_Fidere meritis Christi tutissimum_:\nIt is safest to trust in the merits of Christ:\u201d would we have affirmed\nthat notwithstanding his wrong opinions, he had no share in his\nrighteousness?\n\n5. \u201cBut in what sense is this righteousness imputed to believers?\u201d In\nthis: all believers are forgiven and accepted, not for the sake of any\nthing in them, or of any thing that ever was, that is, or ever can be\ndone by them, but wholly and solely for the sake of what Christ hath\ndone and suffered for them. I say again, not for the sake of any thing\nin them or done by them, of their own righteousness or works. _Not\nfor works of righteousness which we have done, but of his own mercy he\nsaved us. By grace ye are saved thro\u2019 faith.\u2015\u2015Not of works, lest any\nman should boast_: but wholly and solely for the sake of what Christ\nhath done and suffered for us. We are _justified freely, by his grace,\nthro\u2019 the redemption that is in Jesus Christ_. And this is not only\nthe means of our _obtaining_ the favour of God, but of our continuing\ntherein. It is thus we come to God at first: it is by the same we come\nunto him ever after. We walk in one and the same _new_ and _living way_,\ntill our spirit returns to God.\n\n6. And this is the doctrine, which I have constantly believed and\ntaught, for near eight and twenty years. This I published to all the\nworld in the year 1738, and ten or twelve times since, in those words,\nand many others to the same effect, extracted from the homilies of our\nchurch. \u201cThese things must necessarily go together in our justification,\nupon God\u2019s part his great mercy and grace, upon Christ\u2019s part, the\nsatisfaction of God\u2019s justice, and on our part, faith in the merits of\nChrist. So that the grace of God doth not shut out the righteousness\nof God in our justification, but only shutteth out the righteousness\nof man, as to _deserving_ our justification.\u201d\n\n\u201cThat we are justified by faith alone, is spoken to take away\nclearly all merit of our works, and wholly to ascribe the _merit_\nand _deserving_ of our justification to Christ only. Our justification\ncomes freely of the mere mercy of God. For whereas all the world was\nnot able to pay any part toward our ransom, it pleased him, without any\nof our deservings, to prepare for us Christ\u2019s body and blood, whereby\nour ransom might be paid, and his justice satisfied. Christ therefore\nis now the righteousness of all them that truly believe in him.\u201d\n\n7. The hymns published a year or two after this, and since republished\nseveral times (a clear testimony that my judgment was still the same)\nspeak full to the same purpose. To cite all the passages to this effect,\nwould be to transcribe a great part of the volumes. Take one for all,\nwhich was reprinted seven years ago, five years ago, two years ago, and\nsome months since.\n\n \u201cJesu, thy blood and righteousness\n My beauty are my glorious dress:\n Midst flaming worlds in these array\u2019d\n With joy shall I lift up my head.\u201d\n\nThe whole expresses the same sentiment, from the beginning to the end.\n\n8. In the sermon on justification published nineteen, and again seven\nor eight years ago, I express the same thing in these words, p. 87. \u201cIn\nconsideration of this, that the Son of God hath _tasted death for every\nman_, God hath now _reconciled the world unto himself, not imputing to\nthem their former trespasses_. So that for the sake of his well-beloved\nSon, of what he hath done and suffered for us, God now vouchsafes on\none only condition (which himself also enables us to perform) both to\nremit the punishment due to our sins, to re-instate us in his favour,\nand to restore our dead souls to spiritual life, as the earnest of life\neternal.\u201d\n\n9. This is more largely and particularly expressed in the Treatise on\nJustification, which I published last year. \u201cIf we take the phrase of\n_imputing Christ\u2019s righteousness_, for the bestowing (as it were) the\nrighteousness of Christ, including his obedience, as well passive as\nactive in the return of it; that is, in the privileges, blessings and\nbenefits purchased by it: So a believer may be said to be justified,\nby _the righteousness of Christ imputed_. The meaning is, God justifies\nthe believer, for the sake of Christ\u2019s righteousness and not for any\nrighteousness of his own. So Calvin (Instit. l. 2. c. 17.) \u2018Christ\nby his obedience procured and merited for us grace or favour with God\nthe Father.\u2019 Again, \u2018Christ by his obedience procured or purchased\nrighteousness for us.\u2019 And yet again: \u2018All such expressions as\nthese, That we are justified by the grace of God, that Christ is our\nrighteousness, that righteousness was procured for us by the death\nand resurrection of Christ, import the same thing:\u2019 Namely, that the\nrighteousness of Christ, both his active and passive righteousness, is\nthe meritorious cause of our justification, and have procured for us at\nGod\u2019s hand, that upon our believing, we should be accounted righteous\nby him.\u201d p. 5.\n\n10. But perhaps some will object, \u201cNay, but you affirm, that _faith\nis imputed to us for righteousness_.\u201d St. Paul affirms this over and\nover; therefore I affirm it too. Faith is imputed for righteousness\nto every believer; namely, faith in the righteousness of Christ. But\nthis is exactly the same thing, which has been said before. For by that\nexpression, I mean neither more nor less than that we are justified by\nfaith, not by works: Or that every believer is forgiven and accepted,\nmerely for the sake of what Christ has done and suffered.\n\n11. \u201cBut is not a believer, invested or cloathed with the righteousness\nof Christ?\u201d Undoubtedly he is. And accordingly the words above recited,\nare the language of every believing heart.\n\n \u201cJesu, thy blood and righteousness\n My beauty are, my glorious dress.\u201d\n\nThat is, for the sake of thy active and passive righteousness, I am\nforgiven and accepted of God.\n\n\u201cBut must not we put off the filthy rags of our own righteousness,\nbefore we can put on the spotless righteousness of Christ?\u201d Certainly\nwe must; that is in plain terms, we must _repent_, before we can\n_believe the gospel_. We must be cut off from dependence upon\nourselves, before we can truly depend upon Christ. We must cast away\nall confidence in our own righteousness, or we cannot have a true\nconfidence in his. Till we are delivered from trusting in any thing\nthat we do, we cannot throughly trust in what he has done and suffered.\nFirst _we receive the sentence of death in ourselves_; then we trust in\nhim that lived and died for us.\n\n12. \u201cBut do not you believe _inherent_ righteousness?\u201d Yes, in its\nproper place: Not as the _ground_ of our acceptance with God, but as\nthe _fruit_ of it: Not in the place of _imputed_ righteousness, but as\nconsequent upon it. That is, I believe God _implants_ righteousness, in\nevery one to whom he has _imputed_ it. I believe _Jesus Christ is made\nof_ God _unto us sanctification_, as well as righteousness: or, that\nGod sanctifies, as well as justifies, all them that believe in him.\nThey to whom the righteousness of Christ is imputed, are made righteous\nby the Spirit of Christ, are renewed in the image of God, _after the\nlikeness wherein they were created, in righteousness and true holiness_.\n\n13. \u201cBut do not you put faith in the room of Christ, or of his\nrighteousness?\u201d By no means. I take particular care, to put each of\nthese in its proper place. The righteousness of Christ is the whole and\nsole _foundation_ of all our hope. It is by faith that the Holy Ghost\nenables us, to build upon this foundation. God gives this faith. In\nthat moment we are accepted of God: and yet, not for the sake of that\nfaith, but of what Christ has done and suffered for us. You see, each\nof these has its proper place, and neither clashes with the other: We\nbelieve, we love; we endeavour to walk in all the commandments of the\nLord blameless. Yet,\n\n While thus we bestow\n Our moments below,\n Ourselves we forsake,\n And refuge in Jesus\u2019s righteousness take.\n His passion alone,\n The foundation we own:\n And pardon we claim,\n And eternal redemption in Jesus\u2019s name.\n\n14. I therefore no more deny the righteousness of Christ, than I deny\nthe godhead of Christ. And a man may full as justly charge me with\ndenying the one as the other. Neither do I deny _imputed righteousness_:\nthis is another unkind and unjust accusation. I always did, and do\nstill continually affirm, That the righteousness of Christ is imputed\nto every believer. But who do deny it? Why all _infidels_, whether\nbaptized or unbaptized: all who affirm the glorious gospel of our\nLord Jesus Christ to be _a cunningly_ devised fable. All _Socinians_\nand _Arians_; all who deny the supreme godhead of the Lord that\nbought them. They of consequence deny his divine righteousness,\nas they suppose him to be a mere creature. And they deny his human\nrighteousness, as imputed to any man, seeing they believe every one is\naccepted _for his own righteousness_.\n\n15. The human righteousness of Christ, at least the imputation of it,\nas the whole and sole meritorious cause, of the justification of a\nsinner before God, is likewise denied by the members of the church of\nRome: by all of them who are true to the principles of their own church.\nBut undoubtedly there are many among them, whose experience goes beyond\ntheir principles. Who though they are far from expressing themselves\njustly, yet feel what they know not how to express. Yea, although their\nconceptions of this great truth, be as crude as their expressions, yet\n_with their heart they believe_; they rest on Christ alone, both _unto_\npresent and eternal _salvation_.\n\n16. With these we may rank those, even in the reformed churches, who\nare usually termed Mystics. One of the chief of these in the present\ncentury (at least in England) was Mr. Law. It is well known that he\nabsolutely and zealously denied, the imputation of the righteousness\nof Christ: as zealously as Robert Barclay, who scruples not to say,\n\u201cImputed righteousness, imputed nonsense!\u201d The body of the people known\nby the name of Quakers, espouse the same sentiment. Nay, the generality\nof those who profess themselves members of the _church of England_, are\neither totally ignorant of the matter, and know nothing about _imputed\nrighteousness_, or deny this and justification by faith together, as\ndestructive of good works. To these we may add a considerable number\nof the people vulgarly stiled Anabaptists, together with thousands\nof Presbyterians and Independents, lately enlightened by the writings\nof Dr. Taylor. On the last I am not called to pass any sentence: I\nleave them to him that made them. But will any one dare to affirm,\nThat all Mystics (such as was Mr. Law in particular) all Quakers, all\nPresbyterians or Independents, and all members of the church of England,\nwho are not clear in their opinions or expressions, are void of all\nChristian experience? That consequently they are all in a state of\ndamnation, _without hope, without_ God _in the world_? However confused\ntheir ideas may be, however improper their language, may there not be\nmany of them whose heart is right toward God, and who effectually know\n_the Lord our righteousness_?\n\n17. But blessed be God, we are not among those who are so dark in their\nconceptions and expressions. We no more deny the _phrase_ than the\n_thing_; but we are unwilling to obtrude it on other men. Let them use\neither this or such other expressions as they judge to be more exactly\nscriptural, provided their _heart_ rests only on what Christ hath done\nand suffered, for pardon, grace and glory. I cannot express this better\nthan in Mr. Hervey\u2019s words, worthy to be wrote in letters of gold. \u201cWe\nare not solicitous as to any _particular set of phrases_. Only let men\nbe humbled as repenting criminals at Christ\u2019s feet, let them rely as\ndevoted pensioners on his merits, and they are undoubtedly in the way\nto a blessed immortality.\u201d\n\n18. Is there any need, is there any possibility of saying more? Let\nus only abide by this declaration, and all the contention about this\nor that _particular phrase_ is torn up by the roots. Keep to this:\n\u201cAll who are humbled as repenting criminals at Christ\u2019s feet, and\nrely as devoted pensioners on his merits, are in the way to a blessed\nimmortality:\u201d and what room for dispute? Who denies this? Do we not all\nmeet on this ground? What then shall we wrangle about? A man of peace\nhere proposes terms of accommodation to all the contending parties.\nWe desire no better. We accept of the terms. We subscribe to them with\nheart and hand. Whoever refuses so to do, set a mark upon that man! He\nis an enemy of peace, a troubler of Israel, a disturber of the church\nof God.\n\n19. In the mean time, what we are afraid of is this; lest any should\nuse the phrase, \u201cThe righteousness of Christ,\u201d or, \u201cThe righteousness\nof Christ is _imputed to me_,\u201d as a cover for his unrighteousness.\nWe have known this done a thousand times. A man has been reproved,\nsuppose, for drunkenness. \u201cO, said he, I pretend to no righteousness\nof _my own_: Christ is _my righteousness_.\u201d Another has been told,\nthat the extortioner, the unjust, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.\nHe replies with all assurance, \u201cI am unjust in myself, but I have a\nspotless righteousness in Christ.\u201d And thus though a man be as far from\nthe practice as from the tempers of a Christian, though he neither has\nthe mind which was in Christ, nor in any respect walks as he walked,\nyet he has armour of proof against all conviction, in what he calls the\n_righteousness of Christ_.\n\n20. It is the seeing so many deplorable instances of this kind, which\nmakes us sparing in the use of these expressions. And I cannot but\ncall upon all of you, who use them frequently, and beseech you in the\nname of God our Saviour, whose you are and whom you serve, earnestly\nto guard all that hear you, against this accursed abuse of them. O warn\nthem (it may be they will hear _your_ voice) against _continuing in sin\nthat grace may abound_! Warn them against making _Christ the minister\nof sin_! Against making void that solemn decree of God, _Without\nholiness no man shall see the Lord_, by a vain imagination of being\n_holy in Christ_. O warn them, that if they remain unrighteous, the\nrighteousness of Christ will profit them nothing! Cry aloud, (Is there\nnot a cause?) that for this very end the righteousness of Christ is\nimputed to us, that _the righteousness of the law may be fulfilled\nin us_, and that we may _live soberly, righteously and godly in this\npresent world_.\n\nIt remains only, to make a short and plain application. And first I\nwould address myself to you, who violently oppose these expressions,\nand are ready to condemn all that use them as Antinomians. But is not\nthis bending the bow too much the other way? Why should you condemn all\nwho do not speak just as you do? Why should you quarrel with _them_,\nfor using the phrases they like, any more than they with _you_, for\ntaking the same liberty? Or if they do quarrel with you upon that\naccount, do not imitate the bigotry which you blame. At least allow\n_them_ the liberty, which they ought to allow _you_. And why should\nyou be angry at an _expression_? \u201cO, it has been abused.\u201d And what\nexpression has not? However the abuse may be removed, and at the same\ntime the use remain. Above all, be sure to retain the important sense\nwhich is couched under that expression. All the blessings I enjoy, all\nI hope for, in time and in eternity, are given wholly and solely for\nthe sake of what Christ has done and suffered for me.\n\nI would, secondly, add a few words, to you who are fond of these\nexpressions. And permit me to ask, Do not I allow enough? What can any\nreasonable man desire more? I allow the whole _sense_ which you contend\nfor: that we have every blessing _through the righteousness of God\nour Saviour_. I allow _you_ to use whatever expressions you chuse, and\nthat a thousand times over: only guarding them against that dreadful\nabuse, which you are as deeply concerned to prevent as I am. I myself\nfrequently use the expression in question, _imputed righteousness_:\nand often put this and the like expressions into the mouth of a whole\ncongregation. But allow me liberty of conscience herein: allow me\nthe right of private judgment. Allow me to use it just as often as\nI judge it preferable to any other expression. And be not angry with\nme, if I cannot judge it proper, to use any one expression every two\nminutes. _You_ may if you please: but do not condemn me, because I do\nnot. Do not, for this, represent me as a Papist, or \u201can enemy to the\nrighteousness of Christ.\u201d Bear with _me_, as I do with _you_: else how\nshall we _fulfil the law of Christ_? Do not make tragical outcries, as\nthough I was \u201csubverting the very foundations of Christianity.\u201d Whoever\ndoes this, does me much wrong: the Lord lay it not to his charge! I lay,\nand have done for many years, the very same foundation with you. And\nindeed _other foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, even\nJesus Christ_. I build inward and outward holiness thereon, as you do,\neven by faith. Do not therefore suffer any distaste or unkindness, no,\nnor any shyness or coldness in your heart. If there were _a difference\nof opinion_, where is our religion, if we cannot _think and let think_?\nWhat hinders, but you may forgive _me_, as easily as I may forgive\n_you_? How much more, when there is only _a difference of expression_?\nNay, hardly so much as that? All the dispute being only, whether a\nparticular mode of expression, shall be used _more or less frequently_?\nSurely we must earnestly desire to contend with one another, before\nwe can make this a bone of contention! O let us not any more, for\nsuch very trifles as these, give our common enemies room to blaspheme!\nRather let us at length cut off occasion from them that seek occasion!\nLet us at length (O why was it not done before?) join hearts and hands\nin the service of our great Master. As we have _one Lord, one faith,\none hope of our calling_, let us all strengthen each others hands in\nGod, and with one heart and one mouth declare to all mankind, _The Lord\nour righteousness_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXI.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE I.\n MATT. v. 1, 2, 3, 4.\n\n\n _And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain; and when\n he was set, his disciples came unto him:\n\n And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,\n\n Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of\n heaven.\n\n Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted._\n\n1. OUR Lord had now [47]_gone about all_ Galilee, beginning at the time\n[48]_when_ John _was cast into prison_, not only _teaching in their\nsynagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom_, but likewise\n_healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the\npeople_. It was a natural consequence of this, that [49]_there followed\nhim great multitudes from_ Galilee, _and from_ Decapolis, _and from_\nJerusalem, _and from_ Judea, _and from_ the region _beyond_ Jordan.\n[50]_And seeing the multitudes_, whom no synagogue could contain, even\nhad there been any at hand, _he went up into a mountain_, where there\nwas room for all, that _came unto him from every quarter. And when he\nwas set_, as the manner of the _Jews_ was, _his disciples came unto\nhim. And he opened his mouth_ (an expression denoting the beginning of\na solemn discourse) _and taught them, saying_\u2015\u2015\n\n2. Let us observe, who it is, that is here speaking, that we may _take\nheed how_ we _hear_. It is the Lord of heaven and earth, the Creator of\nall, who as such, has a right to dispose of all his creatures; the Lord\nour governor, whose kingdom is from everlasting, and ruleth over all;\nthe great Lawgiver, who can well enforce all his laws, being _able to\nsave and to destroy_; yea, to punish with everlasting destruction from\nhis presence and from the glory of his power. It is the eternal Wisdom\nof the Father, who knoweth whereof we are made, and understands our\ninmost frame; who knows how we stand related to God, to one another, to\nevery creature which God hath made; and consequently how to adapt every\nlaw he prescribes, to all the circumstances wherein he hath placed us.\nIt is he who is _loving unto every man, whose mercy is over all his\nworks_: the God of love, who having emptied himself of his eternal\nglory, is come forth from his Father, to declare his will to the\nchildren of men, and then, goeth again to the Father: who is sent of\nGod _to open the eyes of the blind, to give light to them that sit in\ndarkness_. It is the great Prophet of the Lord, concerning whom God had\nsolemnly declared long ago, [51]_Whosoever will not hearken unto my\nwords, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him_. Or,\nas the apostle expresses it, [52]_Every soul which will not hear that\nProphet, shall be destroyed from among the people_.\n\n3. And what is it which he is teaching? The Son of God, who came from\nheaven, is here shewing us the way to heaven, to the place which he\nhath prepared for us, the glory he had before the world began. He is\nteaching us the true way to life everlasting, the royal way which leads\nto the kingdom. And the only true way; for there is none besides: all\nother paths lead to destruction. From the character of the speaker we\nare well assured, that he hath declared the full and perfect will of\nGod. He hath uttered not one tittle too much; nothing more than he had\nreceived of the Father. Nor too little; he hath not shunned to declare\nthe whole counsel of God. Much less hath he uttered any thing wrong,\nany thing contrary to the will of him that sent him. All his words are\ntrue and right, concerning all things, and shall stand fast for ever\nand ever.\n\n*And we may easily remark, that in explaining and confirming these\nfaithful and true sayings, he takes care to refute not only the\nmistakes of the _Scribes_ and _Pharisees_ which then were, the false\ncomments whereby the _Jewish_ teachers of that age had perverted the\nword of God; but all the practical mistakes, that are inconsistent with\nsalvation, which should ever arise in the _Christian_ church: all the\ncomments whereby the _Christian_ teachers (so called) of any age or\nnation, should pervert the word of God, and teach unwary souls, to seek\ndeath in the error of their life.\n\n4. And hence we are naturally led to observe, whom it is that he is\nhere teaching? Not the apostles alone; if so, he had no need to have\ngone _up into_ the _mountain_. A room in the house of _Matthew_, or any\nof his disciples, would have contained the twelve. Nor does it in any\nwise appear, that the _disciples_ who _came unto him_ were the twelve\nonly. \u039f\u1f31 \u03bc\u03b1\u03b8\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6, without any force put upon the expression, may\nbe understood, of all who desired to _learn of him_. But to put this\nout of all question, to make it undeniably plain that where it is said,\n_He opened his mouth and taught them_, the word _them_ includes all\nthe multitudes, who went up with him into the mountain, we need only\nobserve the concluding verses of the seventh chapter. _And it came to\npass, when_ Jesus _had ended these sayings, the multitudes_, \u03bf\u1f31 \u1f44\u03c7\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9,\n_were astonished at his doctrine_ (or teaching.) _For he taught_ them\n(the multitudes) _as one having authority, and not as the Scribes_.\n\nNor was it only those multitudes who were with him on the mount, to\nwhom he now taught the way of salvation: but all the children of men,\nthe whole race of mankind, the children that were yet unborn: all the\ngenerations to come even to the end of the world, who should ever hear\nthe words of this life.\n\n5. And this all men allow, with regard to some parts of the ensuing\ndiscourse. No man, for instance, denies, that what is said of _poverty\nof spirit_, relates to all mankind. But many have supposed, that\nother parts concerned only the apostles, or the first Christians, or\nministers of _Christ_; and were never designed for the generality of\nmen, who consequently, have nothing at all to do with them.\n\nBut may we not justly enquire, who told them this? That some parts of\nthis discourse, concerned only the apostles? Or the Christians of the\napostolic age? Or the ministers of _Christ_? Bare assertions are not\na sufficient proof, to establish a point of so great importance. Has\nthen our Lord himself taught us; that some parts of his discourse, do\nnot concern all mankind? Without doubt, had it been so, he would have\ntold us; he could not have omitted so necessary an information. But\nhas he told us so? Where? In the discourse itself? No: here is not the\nleast intimation of it. Has he said so elsewhere? In any other of his\ndiscourses? Not one word so much as glancing this way, can we find in\nany thing he ever spoke, either to the multitudes or to his disciples.\nHas any of the apostles, or other inspired writers, left such an\ninstruction upon record? No such thing. No assertion of this kind is\nto be found in all the oracles of God. Who then are the men who are so\nmuch wiser than God? Wise, so far above that is written?\n\n6. Perhaps they will say, \u201cThat the reason of the thing requires such\na restriction to be made.\u201d If it does, it must be on one of these\ntwo accounts; because without such a restriction, the discourse would\neither be apparently absurd, or would contradict some other scripture.\nBut this is not the case. It will plainly appear, when we come to\nexamine the several particulars, that there is no absurdity at all\nin applying all which our Lord hath here delivered, to all mankind.\nNeither will it infer any contradiction to any thing else he has\ndelivered, nor to any other scripture whatever. Nay, it will farther\nappear, that either all the parts of this discourse are to be applied\nto men in general, or no part; seeing they are all connected together,\nall joined as the stones in an arch, of which you cannot take one away,\nwithout destroying the whole fabrick.\n\n7. *We may, lastly, observe, how our Lord teaches here. And surely, as\nat all times, so particularly at this he speaks _as never man spake_.\nNot as the holy men of old; altho\u2019 they also spoke _as they were moved\nby the Holy Ghost_. Not as _Peter_ or _James_, or _John_ or _Paul_.\nThey were indeed wise master-builders in his church. But still in this,\nin the degrees of heavenly wisdom, the servant is not as his Lord.\nNo, nor even as himself, at any other time, or on any other occasion.\nIt does not appear, that it was ever his design, at any other time or\nplace, to lay down at once the whole plan of his religion, to give\nus a full prospect of Christianity, to describe at large the nature\nof that holiness without which no man shall see the Lord. Particular\nbranches of this he has indeed described, on a thousand different\noccasions. But never besides here, did he give, of set purpose, a\ngeneral view of the whole. Nay, we have nothing else of this kind in\nall the Bible: unless one should except that short sketch of holiness,\ndelivered by God in those ten words or commandments, to _Moses_, on\nmount _Sinai_. But even here how wide a difference is there between\none and the other? _Even that which was made glorious had no glory in\nthis respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth_, 2 Cor. iii. 10.\n\n8. Above all, with what amazing love does the Son of God, here reveal\nhis Father\u2019s will to man! He does not bring us _again to the mount that\nburned with fire, nor unto blackness and darkness and tempest_. He does\nnot speak as when he _thundered out of heaven; when the Highest gave\nhis thunder, hail-stones and coals of fire_. He now addresses us with\nhis still, small voice. _Blessed_ or happy _are the poor in spirit_.\nHappy are the mourners, the meek; those that hunger after righteousness;\nthe merciful, the pure in heart: happy in the end and in the way; happy\nin this life, and in life everlasting! As if he had said, Who is he\nthat lusteth to live, and would fain see good days? Behold, I shew you\nthe thing which your soul longeth for; see the way you have so long\nsought in vain! The way of pleasantness; the path to calm, joyous peace,\nto heaven below and heaven above!\n\n9. *At the same time with what authority does he teach! Well might\nthey say, _Not as the Scribes_. Observe the manner, (but it cannot\nbe expressed in words) the air, with which he speaks! Not as _Moses_,\nthe servant of God; not as _Abraham_, his friend; not as any of\nthe prophets; nor as any of the sons of men. It is something more\nthan human; more than can agree to any created being. It speaks the\nCreator of all,\u2015\u2015a God, a God appears! Yea, \u1f41 \u1f62\u03bd, the being of beings,\n_Jehovah_, the self-existent, the supreme, the God who is over all,\nblessed for ever!\n\n10. This divine discourse, delivered in the most excellent method,\nevery subsequent part illustrating those that precede, is commonly,\nand not improperly divided, into three principal branches: the first,\ncontained in the fifth, the second in the sixth, and the third in the\nseventh chapter. In the first, the sum of all true religion is laid\ndown in eight particulars, which are explained and guarded against the\nfalse glosses of man, in the following parts of the fifth chapter. In\nthe second are rules for that right intention, which we are to preserve\nin our all outward actions; unmixt with worldly desires, or anxious\ncares for even the necessaries of life. In the third, are cautions\nagainst the main hindrances of religion, closed with an application of\nthe whole.\n\n\nI. 1. Our Lord, first, lays down the sum of all true religion in eight\nparticulars, which he explains and guards against the false glosses of\nmen to the end of the fifth chapter.\n\nSome have supposed that he designed in these, to point out the\nseveral stages of the Christian course; the steps which a Christian\nsuccessively takes in his journey to the promised land; others,\nthat all the particulars here set down, belong at all times to every\nChristian: And why may we not allow both the one and the other? What\ninconsistency is there between them? It is undoubtedly true, that both\n_poverty of spirit_ and every other temper which is here mentioned,\nare at all times found, in a greater or less degree, in every real\nChristian. And it is equally true, that real Christianity always begins\nin poverty of spirit, and goes on in the order here set down till the\n_man of God_ is made _perfect_. We begin at the lowest of these gifts\nof God; yet so as not to relinquish this, when we are called of God, to\ncome up higher: but, _whereunto we have already attained, we hold fast_,\nwhile we _press on_ to what is yet _before_, to the highest blessings\nof God in _Christ Jesus_.\n\n2. The foundation of all is _poverty of spirit_: here therefore our\nLord begins: _Blessed_, saith he, _are the poor in spirit, for theirs\nis the kingdom of heaven_.\n\nIt may not improbably be supposed, that our Lord looking on those who\nwere round about him, and observing that not many rich were there,\nbut rather the poor of the world, took occasion from thence, to make a\ntransition from temporal to spiritual things. _Blessed_, saith he (or\n_happy_; so the word should be rendered, both in this and the following\nverses) _are the poor in spirit_. He does not say, they that are _poor_,\nas to _outward circumstances_; it being not impossible that some of\nthese may be as far from happiness as a monarch upon his throne: but\n_the poor in spirit_, they who, whatever their outward circumstances\nare, have that disposition of heart, which is the first step to all\nreal, substantial happiness, either in this world or that which is to\ncome.\n\n3. Some have judged, that by the _poor in spirit_ here, are meant,\nthose who love poverty; those who are free from covetousness; from the\nlove of money; who fear, rather than desire riches. Perhaps they have\nbeen induced so to judge, by wholly confining their thought to the very\nterm; or by considering that weighty observation of St. _Paul, that\nthe love of money is the root of all evil_. And hence many have wholly\ndivested themselves, not only of riches but of all worldly goods. Hence\nalso the vows of voluntary poverty, seem to have arisen in the _Romish_\nchurch: it being supposed, that so eminent a degree of this fundamental\ngrace, must be a large step toward _the kingdom of heaven_.\n\nBut these do not seem to have observed, first, That the expression of\nSt. _Paul_ must be understood with some restriction. Otherwise it is\nnot true: for the love of money is not _the root_, the sole root _of\nall evil_. There are a thousand other roots of evil in the world, as\nsad experience daily shews. His meaning can only be, it is the root of\nvery many evils: perhaps of more than any single vice besides; secondly,\nthat this sense of the expression, _poor in spirit_, will by no means\nsuit our Lord\u2019s present design, which is to lay a general foundation\nwhereon the whole fabric of Christianity may be built: a design which\nwould be in no wise answered, by guarding against one particular vice:\nso that, if even this were supposed to be one part of his meaning, it\ncould not possibly be the whole: thirdly, that it cannot be supposed\nto be any part of his meaning, unless we charge him with manifest\ntautology: seeing if _poverty of spirit_ were only freedom from\ncovetousness, from the love of money, or the desire of riches, it would\ncoincide with what he afterwards mentions, it would be only a branch of\n_purity of heart_.\n\n4. Who then are _the poor in spirit_? Without question, the humble;\nthey who know themselves: who are convinced of sin: those to whom\nGod hath given that first repentance, which is previous to faith in\n_Christ_.\n\nOne of these can no longer say, _I am rich, and increased in goods\nand have need of nothing_: as now knowing, that he is _wretched and\npoor and miserable and blind and naked_. He is convinced that he is\nspiritually poor indeed; having no spiritual good abiding in him. _In\nme_, saith he, _dwelleth no good thing_; but whatsoever is evil and\nabominable. He has a deep sense of the loathsome leprosy of sin, which\nhe brought with him from his mother\u2019s womb, which overspreads his whole\nsoul, and totally corrupts every power and faculty thereof. He sees\nmore and more of the evil tempers, which spring from that evil root:\nthe pride and haughtiness of spirit, the constant bias to think of\nhimself more highly than he ought to think: the vanity, the thirst\nafter the esteem or honour that cometh from men: the hatred or envy,\nthe jealousy or revenge, the anger, malice, or bitterness; the inbred\nenmity both against God and man, which appears in ten thousand shapes:\nthe love of the world, the self-will, the foolish and hurtful desires,\nwhich cleave to his inmost soul. He is conscious, how deeply he has\noffended by his tongue; if not by profane, immodest, untrue or unkind\nwords, yet by discourse which was not _good, to the use of edifying_,\nnot _meet to minister grace to the hearers_; which consequently was all\n_corrupt_ in God\u2019s account, and grievous to his holy Spirit. His evil\nworks are now likewise ever in his sight; if he tell them, _they are\nmore than he \u2666is able to express_. He may as well think to number the\n_drops of rain, the sands of the sea, or the days of eternity_.\n\n5. His guilt is now also before his face: he knows the punishment he\nhas deserved, were it only on account of his _carnal mind_, the entire,\nuniversal corruption of his nature: how much more, on account of all\nhis evil desires and thoughts, of all his sinful words and actions?\nHe cannot doubt for a moment, but the least of these deserves the\ndamnation of hell; _the worm that dieth not, and the fire that never\nshall be quenched_. Above all, the guilt of _not believing on the name\nof the only begotten Son of God_, lies heavy upon him. _How_ saith he,\n_shall_ I escape, who _neglect so great salvation! He that believeth\nnot, is condemned already, and the wrath of God abideth on him._\n\n6. But what shall he give in exchange for his soul, which is forfeited\nto the just vengeance of God? _Wherewithal shall he come before the_\nLord? How shall he pay him that he oweth? Were he from this moment to\nperform the most perfect obedience to every command of God, this would\nmake no amends for a single sin, for any one act of past disobedience:\nseeing he owes God all the service he is able to perform from this\nmoment to all eternity; could he pay this, it would make no manner\nof amends, for what he ought to have done before. He sees himself\ntherefore utterly helpless, with regard to atoning for his past sins;\nutterly unable to make any amends to God, to pay any ransom for his own\nsoul.\n\nBut if God would forgive him all that is past, on this one condition,\nthat he should sin no more, that for the time to come he should\nentirely and constantly obey all his commands: he well knows that this\nwould profit him nothing, being a condition he could never perform. He\nknows and feels, that he is not able to obey, even the outward commands\nof God: seeing these cannot be obeyed, while his heart remains in its\nnatural sinfulness and corruption: inasmuch as an evil tree, cannot\nbring forth good fruit. But he cannot cleanse a sinful heart: with men\nthis is impossible. So that he is utterly at a loss, even how to begin\nwalking in the path of God\u2019s commandments. He knows not how to get\none step forward in the way. Incompassed with sin and sorrow and fear,\nand finding no way to escape, he can only cry out, Lord, _save, or I\nperish_!\n\n7. *_Poverty of spirit_ then, as it implies the first step we take in\nrunning the race which is set before us, is, a just sense of our inward\nand outward sins, and of our guilt and helplessness. This some have\nmonstrously stiled, the _virtue of humility_; thus teaching us to be\nproud of knowing we deserve damnation. But our Lord\u2019s expression is\nquite of another kind; conveying no idea to the hearer, but that of\nmere want, of naked sin, of helpless guilt and misery.\n\n8. The great apostle, where he endeavours to bring sinners to God,\nspeaks in a manner just answerable to this, [53]_The wrath of_ God,\nsaith he, _is revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and\nunrighteousness of men_: a charge which he immediately fixes on the\nHeathen world, and thereby proves, they were under the wrath of God. He\nnext shews, that the Jews were no better than they, and were therefore\nunder the same condemnation: and all this, not in order to their\nattaining \u201cThe noble virtue of humility,\u201d but _that every mouth might\nbe stopped, and all the world become guilty before_ God.\n\nHe proceeds to shew, that they were helpless as well as guilty;\nwhich is the plain purport of all those expressions, _Therefore by\nthe deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified\u2015\u2015But now the\nrighteousness of_ God, _which is by faith, of_ Jesus Christ, _without\nthe law is manifested\u2015\u2015We conclude, that a man is justified by faith,\nwithout the deeds of the law_: expressions all tending to the same\npoint, even to _hide pride from man_: to humble him to the dust,\nwithout teaching him to reflect upon his humility as a virtue; to\ninspire him with that full piercing conviction of his utter sinfulness,\nguilt and helplessness, which casts the sinner, stript of all, lost and\nundone, on his strong helper, _Jesus Christ the righteous_.\n\n9. One cannot but observe here, that Christianity begins, just where\nHeathen morality ends: _poverty of spirit, conviction of sin_, the\n_renouncing ourselves_, the _not having our_ own _righteousness_,\nthe very first point in the religion of _Jesus Christ_, leaving all\nPagan religion behind. This was ever hid from the wise men of this\nworld: insomuch that the whole _Roman_ language, even with all the\nimprovements of the _Augustan_ age, does not afford so much as a name\nfor _humility_: (the word from whence we borrow this, is as well known,\nbearing in _Latin_ a quite different meaning:) no, nor was one found in\nall the copious language of _Greece_, \u2019till it was _made_ by the great\napostle.\n\n10. O that we may feel what they were not able to express! Sinner,\nawake! Know thyself! Know and feel, that thou wert _shapen in\nwickedness, and that in sin did thy mother conceive_ thee; and that\nthou thyself hast been heaping up sin upon sin, ever since thou couldst\ndiscern good from evil. Sink under the mighty hand of God, as guilty\nof death eternal: and cast off, renounce, abhor all imagination, of\never being able to help thyself! Be it all thy hope to be washed in his\nblood, and renewed by his almighty Spirit, _who himself bare all our\nsins in his own body on the tree_. So shalt thou witness, _Happy are\nthe poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven_.\n\n11. This is that _kingdom of heaven or of_ God which _is within_ us,\neven _righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost_. And what is\nrighteousness, but the life of God in the soul: the mind which was in\n_Christ Jesus_: the image of God stampt upon the heart, now renewed\nafter the likeness of him that created it? What is it but the love of\nGod because he first loved us, and the love of all mankind, for his\nsake?\n\nAnd what is this peace, the peace of God, but that calm serenity of\nsoul, that sweet repose in the blood of _Jesus_, which leaves no doubt\nof our acceptance in him? Which excludes all fear, but the loving,\nfilial fear of offending our Father which is in heaven.\n\nThis inward kingdom implies also _joy in the Holy Ghost_, who seals\nupon our hearts, _the redemption which is in_ Jesus, the righteousness\nof _Christ_, imputed to us, _for the remission of the sins that are\npast_: who giveth us now the _earnest of our inheritance_, of the crown\nwhich the Lord, the righteous judge will give at that day. And well\nmay this be termed _The kingdom of heaven_; seeing it is heaven already\nopened in the soul; the first springing up of those rivers of pleasure\nwhich flow at God\u2019s right-hand for evermore.\n\n12. _Theirs is the kingdom of heaven._ Whosoever thou art, to whom God\nhath given to be _poor in spirit_, to feel thyself lost, thou hast a\nright thereto, through the gracious promise of him who cannot lie. It\nis purchased for thee by the blood of the Lamb. It is very nigh: thou\nart on the brink of heaven. Another step, and thou enterest into the\nkingdom, of righteousness and peace and joy. Art thou all sin? _Behold\nthe Lamb of_ God, _who taketh away the sin of the world_. All unholy?\nSee thy _Advocate with the Father_, Jesus Christ _the righteous_. Art\nthou unable to atone for the least of thy sins? _He is the propitiation\nfor_ all thy _sins_. Now believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and all thy\nsins are blotted out. Art thou totally unclean in soul and body? Here\nis the _fountain for sin and uncleanness. Arise and wash away thy sins_:\nstagger no more at the promise through unbelief. Give glory to God:\ndare to believe! Now cry out, from the ground of thy heart,\n\n Yes, I yield, I yield at last,\n Listen to thy speaking blood;\n Me with all my sins I cast\n On my atoning God!\n\n13. *Then thou learnest of him to be _lowly of heart_. And this is the\ntrue, genuine, Christian humility, which flows from a sense of the love\nof God, reconciled to us in _Christ Jesus_. _Poverty of spirit_, in\nthis meaning of the word, begins, where a sense of guilt and of the\nwrath of God ends; and is, a continual sense of our total dependence\non him, for every good thought or word or work; of our utter inability\nto all good, unless he _water us every moment_: and an abhorrence of\nthe praise of men, knowing that all praise is due unto God only. With\nthis is joined a loving shame, a tender humiliation before God, even\nfor the sins which we know he hath forgiven us, and for the sin which\nstill remaineth in our hearts, although we know it is not imputed to\nour condemnation. Nevertheless the conviction we feel of inbred sin, is\ndeeper and deeper every day. The more we grow in grace, the more do we\nsee, of the desperate wickedness of our heart. The more we advance in\nthe knowledge and love of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, (as great\na mystery as this may appear, to those who know not the power of God\nunto salvation) the more do we discern of our alienation from God, of\nthe enmity that is in our carnal mind, and the necessity of our being\nentirely renewed in righteousness and true holiness.\n\n\nII. 1. It is true, he has scarce any conception of this, who now begins\nto know the inward kingdom of heaven. _In his prosperity_ he saith, _I\nshall never be moved; Thou_, Lord, _hast made my hill so strong_. Sin\nis so utterly bruised beneath his feet, that he can scarce believe it\nremaineth in him. Even temptation is silenced and speaks not again: it\ncannot approach, but stands afar off. He is borne aloft in the chariots\nof joy and love: he soars _as upon the wings of an eagle_. But our Lord\nwell knew, that this triumphant state does not often continue long. He\ntherefore presently subjoins, _Blessed are they that mourn; for they\nshall be comforted_.\n\n2. Not that we can imagine this promise belongs to those, who mourn\nonly on some worldly account: who are in sorrow and heaviness, merely\non account of some worldly trouble or disappointment; such as the loss\nof their reputation, or friends; or the impairing of their fortune.\nAs little title to it have they who are afflicting themselves, through\nfear of some temporal evil: or who pine away with anxious care, or\nthat desire of earthly things which _maketh the heart sick_. Let us not\nthink, these _shall receive any thing from the_ Lord: he is not in all\ntheir thoughts. Therefore it is that they thus _walk in a vain shadow,\nand disquiet themselves in vain_. And _this shall ye have of mine hand_,\nsaith the Lord, _ye shall lie down in sorrow_.\n\n3. The mourners of whom our Lord here speaks, are those that mourn on\nquite another account: they that mourn after God, after him in whom\nthey did _rejoice, with joy unspeakable_, when he gave them to _taste\nthe good_, the pardoning _word, and the powers of the world to come_.\nBut he now _hides his face and they are troubled_; they cannot see him\nthrough the dark cloud. But they see temptation and sin, which they\nfondly supposed were gone never to return, arising again, following\nafter them amain, and holding them in on every side. It is not strange\nif their soul is now disquieted within them, and trouble and heaviness\ntake hold upon them. Nor will their great enemy fail to improve the\noccasion; to ask, \u201cWhere is now thy God? Where is now the blessedness\nwhereof thou spakest? The beginning of the kingdom of heaven? Yea, hath\nGod said, Thy sins are forgiven thee? Surely God hath not said it. It\nwas only a dream, a mere delusion, a creature of thy own imagination.\nIf thy sins are forgiven, why art thou thus? Can a pardoned sinner be\nthus unholy?\u201d\u2015\u2015And if then, instead of immediately crying to God, they\nreason with him that is wiser than they, they will be in heaviness\nindeed, in sorrow of heart, in anguish not to be exprest. Nay even when\nGod shines again upon the soul, and takes away all doubt of his past\nmercy, still he that is _weak in faith_ may be tempted and troubled,\non account of what is to come: especially, when inward sin revives,\nand thrusts sore at him that he may fall. Then may he again cry out,\n\n \u201cI have a sin of fear, that when I\u2019ve spun\n My last thread, I shall perish on the shore!\u201d\n\nLest I should make shipwreck of the faith, and my last state be worse\nthan the first:\n\n \u201cLest all my bread of life should fail\n And I sink down unchang\u2019d to hell.\u201d\n\n4. Sure it is that this affliction _for the present is not joyous but\ngrievous. Nevertheless, afterward it bringeth forth peaceable fruit\nunto them that are exercised thereby. Blessed_ therefore _are they\nthat_ thus _mourn_, if they _tarry the_ Lord\u2019s _leisure_, and suffer\nnot themselves to be turned out of the way, by the miserable comforters\nof the world; if they resolutely reject all the comforts of sin, of\nfolly and vanity; all the idle diversions and amusements of the world,\nall the pleasures which _perish in the using_, and which only tend\nto benumb and stupify the soul, that it may neither be sensible of\nitself nor God. Blessed are they who _follow on to know the_ Lord,\nand steadily refuse all other comfort. They shall be comforted by the\nconsolations of his Spirit, by a fresh manifestation of his love; by\nsuch a witness of his accepting them in the Beloved, as shall never\nmore be taken away from them. This _full assurance of faith_ swallows\nup all doubt, as well as all tormenting fear; God now giving them a\nsure hope of an enduring substance and _strong consolation through\ngrace_. Without disputing, whether it be possible for any of those to\n_fall away, who were once enlightened and made partakers of the Holy\nGhost_, it suffices them to say, by the power now resting upon them,\n[54]_Who shall separate us from the love of_ Christ? _I am persuaded,\nthat neither death nor life, nor things present, nor things to come:\nnor height nor depth\u2015\u2015shall be able to separate us from the love of_\nGod, _which is in_ Christ Jesus _our_ Lord!\n\n5. This whole process, both of mourning for an absent God, and\nrecovering the joy of his countenance, seems to be shadowed out in what\nour Lord spoke to his apostles, the night before his passion. [55]_Do\nye enquire of that I said, a little while and ye shall not see me, and\nagain a little while and ye shall see me? Verily verily I say unto you,\nthat ye shall weep and lament_, namely when ye do not see me; _but the\nworld shall rejoice_, shall triumph over you, as though your hope were\nnow come to an end. _And ye shall be sorrowful_, thro\u2019 doubt, thro\u2019\nfear, thro\u2019 temptation, thro\u2019 vehement desire: _But your sorrow shall\nbe turned into joy_, by the return of him whom your soul loveth. _A\nwoman when she is in travail, hath sorrow because her hour is come.\nBut as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembreth no more\nthe anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world. And ye now have\nsorrow_: ye mourn and cannot be comforted. _But I will see you again:\nand your heart shall rejoice_, with calm, inward joy, _and your joy no\nman taketh from you_.\n\n6. *But although this mourning is at an end, is lost in holy joy,\nby the return of the Comforter, yet is there another, and a blessed\nmourning it is, which abides in the children of God. They still mourn\nfor the sins and miseries of mankind: they _weep with them that weep_.\nThey weep for them that weep not for themselves, for the sinners\nagainst their own souls. They mourn for the weakness and unfaithfulness\nof those, that are in some measure saved from their sins. _Who is weak\nand they are not weak? Who is offended and they burn not?_ They are\ngrieved for the dishonour continually done to the Majesty of heaven\nand earth. At all times they have an awful sense of this, which brings\na deep seriousness upon their spirit: a seriousness which is not a\nlittle increased, since the eyes of their understanding were opened, by\ntheir continually seeing the vast ocean of eternity, without a bottom\nor a shore, which has already swallowed up millions of millions of men,\nand is gaping to devour them that yet remain. They see here, the house\nof God eternal in the heavens; there, hell and destruction without a\ncovering; and thence feel the importance of every moment, which just\nappears, and is gone for ever.\n\n7. *But all this wisdom of God is foolishness with the world. The whole\naffair of _mourning_ and _poverty of spirit_, is with them stupidity\nand dullness. Nay \u2019tis well if they pass so favourable a judgment upon\nit; if they do not vote it to be mere moping and melancholy, if not\ndownright lunacy and distraction. And it is no wonder at all, that this\njudgment should be passed, by those who know not God. Suppose as two\npersons were walking together, one should suddenly stop, and with the\nstrongest signs of fear and amazement, cry out, \u201cOn what a precipice do\nwe stand! See, we are on the point of being dashed in pieces! Another\nstep, and we fall into that huge abyss. Stop! I will not go on for\nall the world.\u201d When the other, who seemed to himself at least equally\nsharp-sighted, looked forward and saw nothing of all this; what would\nhe think of his companion? But that he was _beside himself_; that his\nhead was out of order: that much religion (if he was not guilty of much\nlearning) had certainly _made him mad_.\n\n8. *But let not the children of God, _the mourners in Sion_, be moved\nby any of these things. Ye whose eyes are enlightened, be not troubled\nby those, who walk on still in darkness. Ye do not walk on in a vain\nshadow: God and eternity are real things. Heaven and hell are in very\ndeed open before you: and ye are on the edge of the great gulph. It has\nalready swallowed up more than words can express, nations and kindreds\nand peoples and tongues, and still yawns to devour, whether they see\nit or no, the giddy, miserable children of men. O cry aloud! Spare not!\nLift up your voice, to him who grasps both time and eternity, both for\nyourselves and your brethren, that ye may be counted worthy to escape\nthe destruction that cometh as a whirlwind! That ye may be brought safe,\nthro\u2019 all the waves and storms, into the haven where you would be. Weep\nfor yourselves, till he wipes away the tears from your eyes. And even\nthen weep for the miseries that come upon the earth, till the Lord of\nall shall put a period to misery and sin, shall wipe away the tears\nfrom all faces, and _the knowledge of the_ Lord _shall cover the earth,\nas the waters cover the sea_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXII.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE II.\n MATT. v. 5, 6, 7.\n\n\n _Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.\n\n Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness;\n for they shall be filled.\n\n Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy._\n\nI. 1. WHEN _the winter is past_, when _the time of singing is come, and\nthe voice of the turtle is heard in the land_; when he that comforts\nthe mourners is now returned, _that he may abide with them for ever_:\nwhen at the brightness of his presence the clouds disperse, the dark\nclouds of doubt and uncertainty, the storms of fear flee away, the\nwaves of sorrow subside, and their spirit again _rejoiceth in_ God\ntheir _Saviour_: then is it that this word is eminently fulfilled,\nthen those whom he hath comforted can bear witness, _Blessed_ or happy,\n_are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth_.\n\n2. *But who are the meek? Not those who grieve at nothing, because they\nknow nothing; who are not discomposed at the evils that occur, because\nthey discern not evil from good. Not those who are sheltered from the\nshocks of life, by a stupid insensibility; who have either by nature or\nart, the virtue of stocks and stones, and resent nothing, because they\nfeel nothing. Brute philosophers are wholly unconcerned in this matter.\nApathy is as far from meekness as from humanity. So that one would not\neasily conceive, how any Christians of the purer ages, especially any\nof the fathers of the church, could confound these, and mistake one of\nthe foulest errors of Heathenism, for a branch of true Christianity.\n\n3. *Nor does Christian meekness imply, the being without zeal for God,\nany more than it does ignorance or insensibility. No; it keeps clear\nof every extreme, whether in excess or defect. It does not destroy but\nbalance the affections, which the God of nature never designed should\nbe rooted out by grace, but only brought and kept under due regulations.\nIt poises the mind aright. It holds an even scale, with regard to anger\nand sorrow and fear: preserving the mean in every circumstance of life,\nand not declining either to the right-hand or the left.\n\n4. *Meekness therefore seems properly to relate to ourselves. But it\nmay be referred either to God or our neighbour. When this due composure\nof mind has reference to God, it is usually termed resignation; a calm\nacquiesence in whatsoever is his will concerning us, even though it\nmay not be pleasing to nature; saying continually, _It is the_ Lord;\n_let him do what seemeth him good_. When we consider it more strictly\nwith regard to ourselves, we stile it patience or contentedness. When\nit is exerted toward other men, then it is mildness to the good, and\ngentleness to the evil.\n\n5. *They who are truly meek, can clearly discern what is evil; and they\ncan also suffer it. They are _sensible_ of every thing of this kind;\nbut still meekness holds the reins. They are exceeding _zealous for\nthe_ Lord _of Hosts_; but their zeal is always guided by knowledge,\nand tempered in every thought and word and work, with the love of man\nas well as the love of God. They do not desire to extinguish any of\nthe passions, which God has for wise ends implanted in their nature.\nBut they have the mastery of all; they hold them all in subjection,\nand employ them only in subservience to those ends. And thus even the\nharsher and more unpleasing passions, are applicable to the noblest\npurposes. Even hate and anger and fear, when engaged against sin, and\nregulated by faith and love, are as walls and bulwarks to the soul, so\nthat the wicked one cannot approach to hurt it.\n\n\u26666. \u2019Tis evident, this divine temper, is not only to abide, but\nto increase in us day by day. Occasions of exercising, and thereby\nincreasing it, will never be wanting while we remain upon earth. We\n_have need of patience, that after_ we _have done_ and suffered _the\nwill of_ God, we _may receive the promise_. We have need of resignation,\nthat we may in all circumstances say, _Not as I will, but as thou\nwilt_. And we have need of _gentleness toward all men_; but especially\ntoward the evil and unthankful: otherwise we shall be overcome of evil,\ninstead of overcoming evil with good.\n\n7. Nor does meekness restrain only the outward act, as the Scribes\nand Pharisees taught of old, and the miserable teachers, who are not\ntaught of God, will not fail to do in all ages. Our Lord guards against\nthis, and shews the true extent of it, in the following words: _Ye have\nheard, that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and\nwhosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment_, ver. 21, &c.\n\n_But I say unto you, that whosoever shall be angry with his brother\nwithout a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever\nshall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but\nwhosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell-fire._\n\n8. Our Lord here ranks under the head of murder, even that anger which\ngoes no farther than the heart; which does not shew itself by any\noutward unkindness; no, not so much as a passionate word.\n\n_Whosoever is angry with his brother_, with any man living, seeing\nwe are all brethren, whosoever feels any unkindness in his heart, any\ntemper contrary to love: whosoever is angry _without a cause_, without\na sufficient cause, or farther than that cause requires, _shall be\nin danger of the judgment_, \u1f14\u03bd\u03bf\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2 \u1f14\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u00b7 _shall_ in that moment _be\nobnoxious to_ the righteous judgment of God.\n\nBut would not one be inclined to prefer the reading of those copies,\nwhich omit the word, \u03b5\u1f30\u03ba\u1fc6, _without a cause_? Is it not entirely\nsuperfluous? For if _anger at persons_ be a temper contrary to love,\nhow can there be a cause, a sufficient cause for it? Any that will\njustify it in the sight of God?\n\n_Anger at sin_, we allow. In this sense we may _be angry and_ yet we\n_sin not_. In this sense our Lord himself, is once recorded to have\nbeen angry. He _looked round about upon them with anger, being grieved\nfor the hardness of their hearts_. He was grieved at the sinners, and\nangry at the sin. And this is undoubtedly right before God.\n\n9. _And whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca_: whosoever shall give\nway to anger, so as to utter any contemptuous word. It is observed by\ncommentators, that _Raca_ is a _Syriack_ word, which properly signifies,\n_empty, vain, foolish_: So that it is as inoffensive an expression\nas can well be used, toward one at whom we are displeased. And yet\nwhosoever should use this, as our Lord assures us, _shall be in danger\nof the council_: Rather, shall be obnoxious thereto: he shall be liable\nto a severer sentence from the Judge of all the earth.\n\n_But whosoever shall say, Thou fool_\u2015\u2015Whosoever shall so give place to\nthe devil, as to break out into reviling, into designedly reproachful\nand contumelious language, _shall be obnoxious to hell-fire_, shall\nin that instant be liable to the highest condemnation. It should be\nobserved, That our Lord describes all these, as obnoxious to capital\npunishment. The first, to strangling, usually inflicted on those who\nwere condemned in one of the inferior courts: the second to stoning,\nwhich was frequently inflicted on those who were condemned by the great\ncouncil at _Jerusalem_; the third to burning alive, inflicted only on\nthe highest offenders, in the _valley of the sons of_ Hinnom. \u0393\u1fc6 \u1f19\u03bd\u03bd\u03ce\u03bd\u00b7\nfrom which that word is evidently taken, which we translate hell.\n\n10. And whereas men naturally imagine, that God will excuse their\ndefect in some duties, for their exactness in others, our Lord next\ntakes care to cut off that vain, though common imagination. He shews,\nThat it is impossible for any sinner to _commute_ with God: who will\nnot accept one duty for another, nor take a part of obedience for\nthe whole. He warns us, That the performing our duty to God, will not\nexcuse us from our duty to our neighbour: that works of piety, as they\nare called, will be so far from commending us to God, if we are wanting\nin charity, that on the contrary, that want of charity will make all\nthose works an abomination to the Lord.\n\n_Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there remembrest\nthat thy brother hath ought against thee_, on account of thy unkind\nbehaviour toward him, of thy calling him, _Raca_, or _Thou fool_; think\nnot that thy gift will atone for thy anger; or that it will find any\nacceptance with God, so long as thy conscience is defiled with the\nguilt of unrepented sin. _Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go\nthy way, first be reconciled to thy brother_, (at least, do all that in\nthee lies toward being reconciled) _and then come and offer thy gift_,\nver. 23, 24.\n\n11. And let there be no delay in what so nearly concerneth thy soul.\n_Agree with thine adversary quickly_\u2015\u2015Now: upon the spot\u2015\u2015_while thou\nart in the way with him_\u2015\u2015If it be possible, before he go out of thy\nsight\u2015\u2015_Lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge_\u2015\u2015Lest\nhe appeal to God, the judge of all, _and the Judge deliver thee to the\nofficer_, to _Satan_, the executioner of the wrath of God, _and thou\nbe cast into prison_, into hell, there to be reserved to the judgment\nof the great day. _Verily I say unto thee, thou shalt by no means come\nout thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing._ But this it\nis impossible for thee ever to do; seeing thou hast nothing to pay.\nTherefore if thou art once in that prison, the smoke of thy torment\nmust _ascend up for ever and ever_.\n\n12. *Mean time _the meek shall inherit the earth_. Such is the\nfoolishness of worldly wisdom! The wise of the world had warned them\nagain and again, \u201cThat if they did not resent such treatment, if they\nwould tamely suffer themselves to be thus abused, there would be no\nliving for them upon earth; that they would never be able to procure\nthe common necessaries of life, nor to keep even what they had; that\nthey could expect no peace, no quiet possession, no enjoyment of any\nthing.\u201d Most true\u2015\u2015suppose there were no God in the world; or suppose\nhe did not concern himself with the children of men. But _when_ God\n_ariseth to judgment, and to help all the meek upon earth_: how doth\nhe laugh all this Heathen wisdom to scorn, and turn the _fierceness of\nman to his praise_! He takes a peculiar care, to provide them with all\nthings needful for life and godliness. He secures to them the provision\nhe hath made, in spite of the force, fraud, or malice of men. And what\nhe secures, he _gives_ them _richly to enjoy_. It is sweet to them, be\nit little or much. As _in patience_ they _possess their souls_, so they\ntruly possess whatever God hath given them. They are always content,\nalways pleased with what they have. It pleases them, because it pleases\nGod. So that while their heart, their desire, their joy is in heaven,\nthey may truly be said to _inherit the earth_.\n\n13. But there seems to be a yet farther meaning in these words, even\nthat they shall have a more eminent part _in the new earth, wherein\ndwelleth righteousness_, in that inheritance, a general description\nof which (and the particulars we shall know hereafter) St. _John_ hath\ngiven in the 20th chapter of the _\u2666Revelation. And I saw an angel come\ndown from heaven\u2015\u2015and he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent\u2015\u2015and\nbound him a thousand years\u2015\u2015And I saw the souls of them that were\nbeheaded for the witness of_ Jesus, _and for the word of_ God, _and\nof them which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither\nhad received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands, and they\nlived and reigned with_ Christ _a thousand years. But the rest of the\ndead lived not again, until the thousand years were expired. This is\nthe first resurrection: blessed and holy is he that hath part in the\nfirst resurrection: on such the second death hath no power. But they\nshall be priests of_ God _and of_ Christ, _and shall reign with him a\nthousand years_.\n\n\nII. 1. Our Lord has hitherto been more immediately employed, in\nremoving the hindrance of true religion: such is pride, the first,\ngrand hindrance of all religion, which is taken away by _poverty of\nspirit_; levity, and thoughtlessness, which prevent any religion from\ntaking root in the soul, till they are removed by holy _mourning_: such\nare anger, impatience, discontent, which are all healed by Christian\n_meekness_. And when once these hindrances are removed, these evil\ndiseases of the soul, which were continually raising false cravings\ntherein, and filling it with sickly appetites, the native appetite of a\nheaven-born spirit returns; it hungers and thirsts after righteousness:\nand _blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteousness; for\nthey shall be filled_.\n\n2. Righteousness (as was observed before) is the image of God, the mind\nwhich was in _Christ Jesus_. It is every holy and heavenly temper in\none; springing from, as well as terminating in the love of God, as our\nFather and Redeemer, and the love of all men, for his sake.\n\n3. _Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after_ this: in order\nfully to understand which expression, we should observe, first, That\nhunger and thirst are the strongest of all our bodily appetites. In\nlike manner this hunger in the soul, this thirst after the image of\nGod, is the strongest of all our spiritual \u2666appetites, when it is once\nawakened in the heart: yea, it swallows up all the rest in that one\ngreat desire, to be renewed after the likeness of him that created us.\nWe should, secondly, observe, That from the time we begin to hunger and\nthirst, those appetites do not cease, but are more and more craving and\nimportunate, \u2019till we either eat and drink or die. And even so, from\nthe time that we begin to hunger and thirst after the whole mind which\nwas in _Christ_, these spiritual appetites do not cease, but cry after\ntheir food with more and more importunity. Nor can they possibly cease,\nbefore they are satisfied, while there is any spiritual life remaining.\nWe may, thirdly, observe, That hunger and thirst are satisfied with\nnothing but meat and drink. If you would give to him that is hungry\nall the world beside, all the elegance of apparel, all the trappings of\nstate, all the treasure upon earth, yea thousands of gold and silver:\nif you would pay him ever so much honour, he regards it not; all these\nthings are then of no account with him. He would still say, These\nare not the things I want: give me food, or else I die. The very\nsame is the case with every soul that truly hungers and thirsts after\nrighteousness. He can find no comfort in any thing but this; he can be\nsatisfied with nothing else. Whatever you offer besides, it is lightly\nesteemed; whether it be riches, or honour, or pleasure, he still says,\nthis is not the thing which I want. Give me love or else I die!\n\n4. *And it is as impossible to satisfy such a soul, a soul that is\na-thirst for God, the living God, with what the world accounts religion,\nas with what they account happiness. The religion of the world implies\nthree things; first, The doing no harm, the abstaining from outward sin;\nat least from such as is scandalous, as robbery, theft, common swearing,\ndrunkenness; secondly, The doing good, the relieving the poor, the\nbeing charitable, as it is called: thirdly, The using the means of\ngrace; at least, the going to church and to the Lord\u2019s supper. He in\nwhom these three marks are found, is termed by the world a religious\nman. But will this satisfy him who hungers after God? No. It is not\nfood for his soul. He wants a religion of a nobler kind, a religion\nhigher and deeper than this. He can no more feed on this poor, shallow,\nformal thing, than he can _fill his belly with the east-wind_. True, he\nis careful to abstain from the very appearance of evil: he is zealous\nof good works. He attends all the ordinances of God. But all this is\nnot what it longs for. This is only the outside of that religion, which\nhe insatiably hungers after. The knowledge of God in _Christ Jesus, the\nlife which is hid with_ Christ _in_ God, the being _joined unto the_\nLord in _one Spirit_, the having _fellowship with the Father and the\nSon_; the _walking in the light as_ God _is in the light_, the being\n_purified even as he is pure_: this is the religion, the righteousness\nhe thirsts after. Nor can he rest, \u2019till he thus rests in God.\n\n5. _Blessed are they who_ thus _hunger and thirst after righteousness.\nFor they shall be filled._ They shall be filled with the thing which\nthey long for; even with righteousness and true holiness. God shall\nsatisfy them with the blessings of his goodness, with the felicity of\nhis chosen. He shall feed them with the bread of heaven, with the manna\nof his love. He shall give them to drink of his pleasures as out of the\nriver, which he that drinketh of, shall never thirst: only for more and\nmore of the water of life. This thirst shall endure for ever.\n\n The painful thirst, the fond desire\n Thy joyous presence shall remove:\n But my full soul shall still require\n A whole eternity of love.\n\n6. *Whosoever then thou art, to whom God hath given to _hunger and\nthirst after righteousness_, cry unto him that thou mayest never lose\nthat inestimable gift, that this divine appetite may never cease. If\nmany rebuke thee, and bid thee hold thy peace, regard them not, yea,\ncry so much the more, _Jesus, Master, have mercy on me_! Let me not\nlive, but to be holy as thou art holy! No more _spend thy money for\nthat which is not bread_, nor thy _labour for that which satisfieth\nnot_. Canst thou hope to dig happiness out of the earth? To find it\nin the things of the world. O trample under foot all its pleasures,\ndespise its honours, count its riches as dung and dross: yea, and\nall the things which are beneath the sun, _for the excellency of the\nknowledge of_ Christ Jesus; for the entire renewal of thy soul in that\nimage of God, wherein it was originally created. Beware of quenching\nthat blessed hunger and thirst, by what the world calls religion: a\nreligion of form, of outside shew, which leaves the heart as earthly\nand sensual as ever. Let nothing satisfy thee but the power of\ngodliness, but a religion that is spirit and life; thy dwelling in God\nand God in thee, the being an inhabitant of eternity; the entring in\nby the blood of sprinkling _within the veil_, and _sitting in heavenly\nplaces with_ Christ Jesus.\n\n\nIII. 1. And the more they are filled with the life of God, the more\ntenderly will they be concerned for those, who are still without God\nin the world, still dead in trespasses and sins. Nor shall this concern\nfor others lose its reward. _Blessed are the merciful; for they shall\nobtain mercy._\n\nThe word used by our Lord, more immediately implies, the compassionate,\nthe tender-hearted: those, who far from despising, earnestly grieve for\nthose that do not hunger after God. This eminent part of brotherly love,\nis here (by a common figure) put for the whole: So that _the merciful_,\nin the full sense of the term, are they who _love their neighbours as\nthemselves_.\n\n2. Because of the vast importance of this love, without which, _tho\u2019\nwe spake with the tongues of men and angels, tho\u2019 we had the gift of\nprophecy and understood all mysteries and all knowledge, tho\u2019 we had\nall faith so as to remove mountains_; yea, _tho\u2019_ we _gave all_ our\n_goods to feed the poor, and_ our very _bodies to be burned, it_ would\n_profit us nothing_: the wisdom of God has given us by the apostle\n_Paul_, a full and particular account of it: by considering which we\nshall most clearly discern, who are the _merciful_ that shall _obtain\nmercy_.\n\n3. _Charity_, or _Love_ (as it were to be wished it had been rendered\nthroughout, being a far plainer and less ambiguous word) the love\nof our neighbour as _Christ_ hath loved us, _suffereth long_, is\npatient toward all men. It suffers all the weakness, ignorance, errors,\ninfirmities, all the frowardness and littleness of faith, in the\nchildren of God; all malice and wickedness of the children of the world.\nAnd it suffers all this, not only for a time, for a short season, but\nto the end: still feeding our enemy when he hungers: if he thirst,\nstill giving him drink: thus continually _heaping coals of fire_, of\nmelting love, _upon his head_.\n\n4. And in every step toward this desirable end, the _overcoming evil\nwith good, love is kind_: (\u03c7\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7 a word not easily translated)\nit is soft, mild, benign. It stands at the utmost distance from\nmoroseness, from all harshness or sowerness of spirit; and inspires the\nsufferer at once with the most amiable sweetness, and the most fervent\nand tender affection.\n\n5. Consequently, _love envieth not_, it is impossible it should, it\nis directly opposite to that baneful temper. It cannot be, that he who\nhas this tender affection to all, who earnestly wishes all temporal\nand spiritual blessings, all good things in this world and the world\nto come, to every soul that God hath made, should be pained at his\nbestowing any good gift, on any child of man. If he has himself\nreceived the same, he does not grieve but rejoice, that another\npartakes of the common benefit. If he has not, he blesses God, that\nhis brother at least has, and is herein happier than himself. And the\ngreater his love, the more does he rejoice, in the blessings of all\nmankind: the farther is he removed from every kind and degree of envy\ntoward any creature.\n\n6. Love \u03bf\u1f50 \u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c1\u03b5\u03cd\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7 Not _vaunteth not itself_, which co-incides\nwith the very next words, but rather (as the word likewise properly\nimports) _is not rash_ or _hasty_ in judging. It will not hastily\ncondemn any one. It does not pass a severe sentence, on a slight or\nsudden view of things. It first weighs all the evidence, particularly\nthat which is brought in favour of the accused. A true lover of his\nneighbour, is not like the generality of men, who even in cases of the\nnicest nature, \u201csee a little, presume a great deal, and so jump to the\nconclusion.\u201d No: he proceeds with wariness and circumspection, taking\nheed to every step: willingly subscribing to that rule of the ancient\nHeathen, (O where will the modern Christian appear!) \u201cI am so far from\nlightly believing what one man says against another, that I will not\neasily believe what a man says against himself. I will always allow him\nsecond thoughts, and many times council too.\u201d\n\n7. It follows, love _is not puffed_ up. It does not incline or suffer\nany man _to think more highly of himself than he ought to think_: but\nrather _to think soberly_. Yea, it humbles the soul unto the dust. It\ndestroys all high conceits engendering pride, and makes us rejoice to\nbe as nothing, to be little and vile, the lowest of all, the servant\nof all. They who are _kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly\nlove_, cannot but _in honour prefer one another_. Those who _having the\nsame love_ are _of one accord_, do _in lowliness of mind each esteem\nother better than themselves_.\n\n8. _It doth not behave itself unseemly._ It is not rude, or willingly\noffensive to any. It _renders to all their due; fear to whom fear,\nhonour to whom honour_: courtesy, civility, humanity to all the world;\nin their several degrees _honouring all men_. A late writer defines\ngood-breeding, nay, the highest degree of it, politeness, \u201ca continual\ndesire to please, appearing in all the behaviour.\u201d But if so, there\nis none so well-bred as a Christian, a lover of all mankind. For he\ncannot but desire to _please all men, for their good, to edification_.\nAnd this desire cannot be hid: it will necessarily appear in all\nhis intercourse with men. For his _love_ is _without dissimulation_;\nit will appear in all his actions and conversation: yea, and will\nconstrain him, tho\u2019 without guile, to _become all things to all men,\nif by any means_ he _may save some_.\n\n9. And in becoming all things to all men, _love seeketh not her own_.\nIn striving to please all men, the lover of mankind has no eye at all\nto his own temporal advantage. He covets no man\u2019s silver, or gold, or\napparel: he desires nothing, but the salvation of their souls. Yea, in\nsome sense he maybe be said, _not to seek his own_ spiritual, any more\nthan temporal advantage. For while he is on the full stretch to save\ntheir souls from death, he, as it were forgets himself. He does not\nthink of himself, so long as that zeal for the glory of God swallows\nhim up. Nay, at some times, he may almost seem, through an excess of\nlove, to give up himself, both his soul and his body: while he cries\nout with _Moses, [56]Oh! this people have sinned a great sin. Yet\nnow, if thou wilt, forgive their sin. And if not, blot me out of the\nbook which thou hast written_! Or with St. _Paul, [57]I could wish\nthat myself were accursed from_ Christ, _for my brethren, my kinsmen\naccording to the flesh_!\n\n10. No marvel that such _love is not provoked_: \u03bf\u1f50 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03be\u03cd\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7 Let it\nbe observed, the word _easily_, strangely inserted in the translation,\nis not in the original. St. _Paul_\u2019s words are absolute. _Love is not\nprovoked_: it is not provoked to unkindness, toward any one. Occasions\nindeed will frequently occur; outward provocations of various kinds:\nbut love does not yield to provocation. It triumphs over all. In all\ntrials it looketh unto _Jesus_, and is more than conqueror in his love.\n\n\u2019Tis not improbable, that our translators inserted that word, as it\nwere to _excuse_ the apostle; who, as they supposed, might otherwise\nappear to be wanting, in the very love which he so beautifully\ndescribes. They seem to have supposed this from a phrase in the _Acts\nof the apostles_: which is likewise very inaccurately translated. When\n_Paul_ and _Barnabas_ disagreed concerning _John_, the translation\nruns thus, [58]_And the contention was so sharp between them, that they\ndeparted asunder_. This naturally induces the reader to suppose, that\nthey were equally sharp therein: that St. _Paul_, who was undoubtedly\nright, with regard to the point in question (it being quite improper to\ntake _John_ with them again, who had deserted them before) was as much\nprovoked as _Barnabas_, who gave such a proof of his anger, as to leave\n_the work_ for which he had been _set apart by the Holy Ghost_. But the\noriginal imports no such thing; nor does it affirm, that St. _Paul_ was\nprovoked at all. It simply says \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f10\u03b3\u03ad\u03bd\u03b5\u03c4\u03bf \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03bf\u03be\u03c5\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2\u00b7 _And there was\na sharpness, a paroxism_ of anger: in consequence of which _Barnabas_\nleft St. _Paul_, took _John_ and went his own way. _Paul_ then _chose_\nSilas _and departed, being recommended by the brethren to the grace of_\nGod; (which is not said concerning _Barnabas_) _and he went through_\nSyria _and_ Cilicia, as he had proposed, _confirming the churches_. But\nto return.\n\n11. Love prevents a thousand provocations which would otherwise arise,\nbecause _it thinketh no evil_. Indeed the merciful man cannot avoid\nknowing many things that are evil, he cannot but see them with his own\neyes, and hear them with his own ears. For love does not put out his\neyes, so that it is impossible for him, not to see that such things are\ndone. Neither does it take away his understanding, any more than his\nsenses, so that he cannot but know that they are evil. For instance:\nwhen he sees a man strike his neighbour, or hears him blaspheme God,\nhe cannot either question the thing done or the words spoken, or doubt\nof their being evil. Yet \u03bf\u1f50 \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03cc\u03bd\u00b7 The word \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\n(_thinketh_) does not refer, either to our seeing and hearing, or\nto the first and involuntary acts of our understanding: but to our\nwillingly _thinking_ what we need not: our _inferring_ evil, where\nit does not appear: to our _reasoning_ concerning things which we do\nnot see; our _supposing_ what we have neither seen nor heard. This\nis what true love absolutely destroys. It tears up, root and branch,\nall _imagining_ what we have not known. It casts out all jealousies,\nall evil surmisings, all readiness to believe evil. It is frank, open,\nunsuspicious; and as it cannot design, so neither does it fear evil.\n\n12. *_It rejoiceth not in iniquity_: common as this is, even among\nthose who bear the name of _Christ_; who scruple not to rejoice over\ntheir enemy, when he falleth either into affliction or error or sin.\nIndeed how hardly can they avoid this, who are zealously attached to\nany party? How difficult is it for them not to be pleased with any\nfault which they discover in those of the opposite party? With any real\nor supposed blemish, either in their principles or practice? What warm\ndefender of any cause is clear of these? Yea, who is so calm as to be\naltogether free? Who does not rejoice when his adversary makes a false\nstep, which he thinks will advantage his own cause? Only a man of love.\nHe alone weeps over either the sin or folly of his enemy, takes no\npleasure in hearing or in repeating it, but rather desires that it may\nbe forgotten for ever.\n\n13. *But he _rejoiceth in the truth_, wheresoever it is found, in the\n_truth which is after Godliness_, bringing forth its proper fruit,\nholiness of heart and holiness of conversation. He rejoices to find,\nthat even those who oppose him, whether with regard to opinions or\nsome points of practice, are nevertheless lovers of God, and in other\nrespects unreprovable. He is glad to hear good of them, and to speak\nall he can consistently with truth and justice. Indeed, good in general\nis his glory and joy, wherever diffused through out the race of mankind.\nAs a citizen of the world he claims a share in the happiness of all\nthe inhabitants of it. Because he is a man, he is not unconcerned in\nthe welfare of any man: but enjoys whatsoever brings glory to God, and\npromotes peace and good-will among men.\n\n14. *This love _covereth all things_. (So without all doubt \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\n\u03c3\u03c4\u03ad\u03b3\u03b5\u03b9 should be translated: for otherwise it would be the very same\nwith \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1 \u1f51\u03c0\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9. _endured all things_.) Because the merciful man\n_rejoiceth not in iniquity_, neither does he willingly make mention of\nit. Whatever evil he sees, hears, or knows, he nevertheless conceals,\nso far as he can, without making himself _partaker of other men\u2019s\nsins_. *Wheresoever or with whomsoever he is, if he sees any thing\nwhich he approves not, it goes not out of his lips, unless to the\nperson concerned, if haply he may gain his brother. So far is he from\nmaking the faults or failings of others the matter of his conversation,\nthat of the absent he never does speak at all, unless he can speak\nwell. A talebearer, a backbiter, a whisperer, an evil-speaker, is to\nhim all one as a murderer. He would just as soon cut his neighbour\u2019s\nthroat, as thus murder his reputation. Just as soon would he think of\ndiverting himself by setting fire to his neighbour\u2019s house, as of thus\n_scattering abroad arrows, firebrands and death, and saying, Am I not\nin sport?_\n\n*He makes one only exception. Sometimes he is convinced, that it is\nfor the glory of God, or (which comes to the same) the good of his\nneighbour, that an evil should not be covered. In this case, for the\nbenefit of the innocent, he is constrained to declare the guilty.\nBut even here, 1. He will not speak at all, \u2019till love, superior love\nconstrains him. 2. He cannot do it from a general confused view of\ndoing good, or promoting the glory of God, but from a clear sight of\nsome particular end, some determinate good which he pursues. 3. Still\nhe cannot speak, unless he be fully convinced, that this very means is\nnecessary to that end; that the end cannot be answered, at least not so\neffectually by any other way. 4. He then doth it with the utmost sorrow\nand reluctance, using it as the last and worst medicine, a desperate\nremedy in a desperate case, a kind of poison never to be used but to\nexpel poison. Consequently, 5. He uses it as sparingly as possible. And\nthis he does with fear and trembling, least he should transgress the\nlaw of love by speaking too much, more than he would have done by not\nspeaking at all.\n\n15. Love _believeth all things_. It is always willing to think the\nbest; to put the most favourable construction on every thing. It is\never ready to believe whatever may tend to the advantage of any one\u2019s\ncharacter. It is easily convinced of (what it earnestly desires) the\ninnocence or integrity of any man; or, at least, of the sincerity of\nhis repentance, if he had once erred from the way. It is glad to excuse\nwhatever is amiss; to condemn the offender as little as possible, and\nto make all the allowance for human weakness, which can be done without\nbetraying the truth of God.\n\n16. *And when it can no longer believe, then _love hopeth all things_.\nIs any evil related of any man? Love hopes, that the relation is\nnot true, that the thing related was never done? Is it certain it\nwas?\u2015\u2015\u201cBut perhaps it was not done with such circumstances as are\nrelated; so that allowing the fact, there is room to hope, it was not\nso ill as it is represented.\u201d Was the action apparently, undeniably\nevil? Love hopes the intention was not so. Is it clear, the design\nwas evil too?\u2015\u2015\u201cYet might it not spring from the settled temper of the\nheart: but from a start of passion, or from some vehement temptation,\nwhich hurried the man beyond himself.\u201d And even when it cannot be\ndoubted, but all the actions, designs and tempers are equally evil:\nstill love hopes that God will at last make bare his arm, and get\nhimself the victory; and that _there shall be joy in heaven over this\none sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons\nthat need no repentance_.\n\n17. *Lastly, _It endureth all things_. This compleats the character,\nof him that is truly merciful. He endureth not some, not many things\nonly, not most, but absolutely _all things_. Whatever the injustice,\nthe malice, the cruelty of men, can inflict, he is able to suffer. He\ncalls nothing intolerable; he never says of any thing, \u201cThis is not to\nbe borne.\u201d No; he can, not only do, but suffer all things thro\u2019 Christ\nwhich strengtheneth him. And all he suffers does not destroy his love,\nnot impair it in the least. It is proof against all. It is a flame that\nburns even in the midst of the great deep. _Many waters cannot quench\nhis love, neither can the floods drown it._ It triumphs over all. It\n_never faileth_, either in time or in eternity.\n\n \u201cIn obedience to what heaven decrees,\n Knowledge shall fail and prophecy shall cease.\n But lasting charity\u2019s more ample sway,\n Nor bound by time, nor subject to decay,\n In happy triumph shall for ever live,\n And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive.\u201d\n\nSo shall _the merciful obtain mercy_: not only by the blessing of God,\nupon all their ways, by his now repaying the love they bear to their\nbrethren, a thousand fold into their own bosom: but likewise by _an\nexceeding and eternal weight of glory_, in the _kingdom prepared for\nthem from the beginning of the world_.\n\n18. *For a little while you may say, _Wo is me that I am constrained to\ndwell with Mesech, and to have my habitation among the tents of Kedar_!\nYou may pour out your soul, and bemoan the loss of true, genuine love\nin the earth. Lost indeed! You may well say, (but not in the antient\nsense) \u201cSee how _these Christians_ love one another!\u201d These Christian\nkingdoms, that are tearing out each other\u2019s bowels, desolating one\nanother with fire and sword! These Christian armies, that are sending\neach other by thousands, by ten thousands quick into hell! These\nChristian nations, that are all on fire with intestine broils, party\nagainst party, faction against faction! These Christian cities, where\ndeceit and fraud, oppression and wrong, yea, robbery and murder go\nnot out of their streets! These Christian families, torn asunder with\nenvy, jealousy, anger, domestic jars, without number, without end!\nYea, what is most dreadful, most to be lamented of all, these Christian\nchurches!\u2015\u2015Churches, (_tell it not in_ Gath\u2015\u2015but alas, how can we\nhide it, either from _Jews_, _Turks_, or _Pagans_?) that bear the\nname of _Christ_ the Prince of peace, and wage continual war with each\nother! That convert sinners by burning them alive: that are _drunk\nwith the blood of the saints_!\u2015\u2015Does this praise belong only to Babylon\n_the Great, the Mother of Harlots and abominations of the earth_? Nay,\nverily: but reformed churches (so called) have fairly learned to tread\nin her steps. Protestant churches too know to persecute, when they have\npower in their hands, even unto blood. And mean while, how do they also\nanathematize each other! Devote each other to the nethermost hell! What\nwrath, what contention, what malice, what bitterness, is every where\nfound among them? Even where they agree in essentials, and only differ\nin opinions, or in the circumstantials of religion. Who _follows after_\nonly _the things that make for peace, and things wherewith one may\nedify another_? O God! How long? Shall thy promise fail? Fear it not,\nye little flock. Against hope believe in hope. It is your Father\u2019s good\npleasure, yet to renew the face of the earth. Surely all these things\nshall come to an end, and the inhabitants of the earth shall learn\nrighteousness. _Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither\nshall they know war any more. The mountain of the_ Lord\u2019s _house shall\nbe established on the top of the mountains_: and all the kingdoms of\nthe world shall become the kingdom of our God. _They shall not_ then\n_hurt or destroy, in all his holy mountain_: but _they shall call their\nwalls salvation and their gates praise_. They shall all be without spot\nor blemish, loving one another, even as _Christ_ hath loved us.\u2015\u2015Be\nthou part of the first-fruits, if the harvest is not yet. Do thou love\nthy neighbour as thyself. The Lord God fill thy heart with such a love\nto every soul, that thou mayest be ready to lay down thy life for his\nsake! May thy soul continually overflow with love, swallowing up every\nunkind and unholy temper, \u2019till he calleth thee up into the region of\nlove, there to reign with him for ever and ever!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXIII.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE III.\n MATT. v. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.\n\n\n _Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.\n Blessed are the peace-makers; for they shall be called the\n children of God.\n Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness-sake; for\n theirs is the kingdom of heaven.\n Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and\n shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake.\n Rejoice and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven:\n for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you._\n\nI. 1. HOW excellent things are spoken of the love of our neighbour!\nIt is _the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment_. Without\nthis all we have, all we do, all we suffer, is of no value in the sight\nof God. But it is that love of our neighbour which springs from the\nlove of God: otherwise itself is nothing worth. It behoves us therefore\nto examine well upon what foundation our love of our neighbour stands:\nwhether it is really built upon the love of God? Whether _we_ do _love\nhim, because he first loved us_? Whether we are _pure in heart_? For\nthis is the foundation, which shall never be moved. _Blessed are the\npure in heart; for they shall see_ God.\n\n2. _The pure in heart_ are they, whose hearts God hath _purified even\nas he is pure_; who are purified thro\u2019 faith in the blood of _Jesus_,\nfrom every unholy affection; who being _cleansed from all filthiness\nof flesh and spirit, perfect holiness in the_ loving _fear of_ God.\nThey are, through the power of his grace, purified from pride, by the\ndeepest poverty of spirit; from anger, from every unkind or turbulent\npassion, by meekness and gentleness; from every desire but to please\nand enjoy God, to know and love him more and more, by that hunger and\nthirst after righteousness, which now engrosses their whole soul: so\nthat now they love the Lord their God, with all their heart, and with\nall their soul and mind and strength.\n\n3. But how little has this _purity of heart_ been regarded, by the\nfalse teachers of all ages? They have taught men barely, to abstain\nfrom such outward impurities, as God hath forbidden by name. But they\ndid not strike at the heart; and by not guarding against, they in\neffect, countenanced inward corruptions.\n\nA remarkable instance of this, our Lord has given us, in the following\nwords: _Ye have heard, that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt\nnot commit adultery_.[59] And in explaining this, those blind leaders\nof the blind, only insist on men\u2019s abstaining from the outward act.\n[60]_But I say unto you, whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after\nher, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart_, for God\nrequireth truth in the inward parts. He searcheth the heart and trieth\nthe reins. And _if_ thou _incline unto iniquity with_ thy _heart, the_\nLord _will not hear_ thee.\n\n4. And God admits no excuse for retaining any thing, which is an\noccasion of impurity. Therefore _if thy right eye offend thee, pluck\nit out and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one\nof \u2666thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be\ncast into hell_, ver. 29. If persons as dear to thee as thy right eye,\nbe an occasion of thy thus offending God, a means of exciting unholy\ndesire in thy soul; delay not; forcibly separate from them. _And if\nthy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for\nit is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and\nnot that thy whole body should be cast into hell_, ver. 30. If any who\nseem as necessary to thee as thy right hand, be an occasion of sin, of\nimpure desire; even though it were never to go beyond the heart, never\nto break out in word or action: constrain thyself to an entire and\nfinal parting: cut them off at a stroke; give them up to God. Any loss,\nwhether of pleasure or substance or friends, is preferable to the loss\nof thy soul.\n\nTwo steps only it may not be improper to take, before such an absolute\nand final separation. First, Try whether the unclean spirit may not\nbe driven out by fasting and prayer, and by carefully abstaining from\nevery action and word and look, which thou hast found to be an occasion\nof evil. Secondly, If thou art not by this means delivered, ask council\nof him that watcheth over thy soul, or at least of some who have\nexperience in the ways of God, touching the time and manner of that\nseparation. But confer not with flesh and blood, lest thou be _given\nup to a strong delusion to believe a lie_.\n\n5. Nor may marriage itself, holy and honourable as it is, be used, as\na pretence for giving a loose to our desires. Indeed, _It hath been\nsaid, Whosoever will put away his wife, let him give her a writing of\ndivorcement_. And then all was well, tho\u2019 he alledged no cause, but\nthat he did not like her; or liked another better. _But I say unto\nyou, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of\nfornication_ (that is, adultery; the word \u03c0\u03bf\u03c1\u03bd\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 signifying unchastity\nin general, either in the married or unmarried state) _causeth her to\ncommit adultery_; if she marry again; _and whosoever shall marry her\nthat is put away, committeth adultery_, ver. 31, 32.\n\nAll Polygamy is clearly forbidden in these words, wherein our Lord\nexpresly declares, That for any woman who has a husband alive, to marry\nagain is adultery. By parity of reason, it is adultery for any man\nto marry again, so long as he has a wife alive. Yea, altho\u2019 they were\ndivorced: unless that divorce had been for the cause of adultery. In\nthat only case, there is no scripture, which forbids to marry again.\n\n6. Such is the purity of heart which God requires, and works in those\nwho believe on the Son of his love. And _blessed are they_ who are\nthus _pure in heart. For they shall see_ God. He will _manifest himself\nunto them_, not only _as he doth not unto the world_, but as he doth\nnot always to his own children. He will bless them with the cleared\ncommunications of his Spirit, the most intimate _fellowship with the\nFather and with the Son_. He will cause his presence to go continually\nbefore them, and the light of his countenance to shine upon them. It\nis the ceaseless prayer of their heart, _I beseech thee, shew me thy\nglory_: and they have the petition they ask of him. They now see him\nby faith (the veil of flesh being made, as it were, transparent) even\nin these his lowest works, in all that surrounds them, in all that God\nhas created and made. They see him in the height above, in the depth\nbeneath; they see him filling all in all.\n\n*The pure in heart see all things full of God. They see him in the\nfirmament of heaven, in the moon walking in brightness, in the sun when\nhe rejoiceth as a giant to run his course. They see him _making the\nclouds his chariots, and walking upon the wings of the wind_. They see\nhim _preparing rain for the earth, and blessing the increase of it;\ngiving grass for the cattle, and green herb for the use of man_. They\nsee the Creator of all, wisely governing all, and _upholding all things\nby the word of his power_. O Lord, _our governor! How excellent is thy\nname in all the world!_\n\n7. In all his providences relating to themselves, to their souls or\nbodies, the pure in heart do more particularly see God. They see his\nhand ever over them for good; giving them all things in weight, and\nmeasure, numbring the hairs of their head, making a hedge round about\nthem and all that they have, and disposing all the circumstances of\ntheir life, according to the depth both of his wisdom and mercy.\n\n8. But in a more especial manner, they see God in his ordinances.\nWhether they appear in the great congregation, to _pay him the honour\ndue unto his name, and worship_ him _in the beauty of holiness_; or\n_enter into their closets_ and there pour out their souls before their\n_Father which is in secret_: whether they search the oracles of God, or\nhear the ambassadors of _Christ_ proclaiming glad tidings of salvation;\nor by eating of that bread, and drinking of that cup, _shew forth his\ndeath till he come_ in the clouds of heaven: in all these his appointed\nways, they find such a near approach as cannot be exprest. They see him,\nas it were, face to face, and _talk with him, as a man talketh with his\nfriend_: a fit preparation for those mansions above, wherein they shall\n_see him as he is_.\n\n9. But how far were they from seeing God, who having _heard, that it_\nhad been _said by them of old time, [61]Thou shalt not forswear thyself,\nbut shalt perform unto the_ Lord _thine oaths_: interpreted it thus,\nThou shalt not forswear thyself, when thou swearest by the Lord Jehovah.\nThou _shalt perform unto the_ Lord these _thine oaths_. But as to other\noaths, he regardeth them not.\n\nSo the Pharisees taught. They not only allowed all manner of swearing\nin common conversation: but accounted even forswearing a little thing,\nso they had not sworn by the peculiar name of God.\n\nBut our Lord here absolutely forbids all common swearing, as well as\nfalse swearing: and shews the heinousness of both, by the same awful\nconsideration, That every creature is God\u2019s, and he is every where\npresent, in all, and over all.\n\n[62]_I say unto you, swear not at all: neither by heaven, for it is_\nGod\u2019s _throne_. And therefore this is the same as to swear by him, who\nsitteth upon the circle of the heavens: [63]_nor by the earth: for it\nis his footstool_; and he is as intimately present in earth as heaven:\n_neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King_, and God\nis _well known in her palaces. [64]Neither shalt thou swear by thy head;\nbecause thou canst not make one hair white or black_: because even this,\nit is plain, is not thine but God\u2019s, the sole disposer of all in heaven\nand earth. [65]_But let your communication_, your conversation, your\ndiscourse with each other, _be yea, yea; nay, nay_: a bare, serious\naffirming or denying; for _whatsoever is more than these, cometh of\nevil_: \u1f10\u03ba \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u1fe6 \u1f14\u03c3\u03c4\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 _is of the evil one_; proceedeth from the\ndevil and is a mark of his children.\n\n10. That our Lord does not here forbid, the _swearing in judgment and\ntruth_, when we are required so to do by a magistrate, may appear,\n1. From the occasion of this part of his discourse, the abuse he was\nhere reproving, which was false swearing and common swearing; the\nswearing before a magistrate being quite out of the question. 2. From\nthe very words wherein he forms the general conclusion, _Let your\ncommunication_, or discourse, _be yea, yea; nay, nay_. 3. From his\nown example; for he answered himself upon oath, when required by a\nmagistrate. When [66]_the high priest said unto him, I adjure thee by\nthe living_ God, _that thou tell us, whether thou be the_ Christ, _the\nSon of_ God? _Jesus_ immediately answered in the affirmative, _Thou\nhast said_ (i.e. the truth). _Nevertheless_ (or rather, _Moreover_)\n_I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the\nright hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven_. 4. From the\nexample of God, even the Father, [67]who _willing the more abundantly\nto shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel,\nconfirmed it by an oath_. 5. From the example of St. _Paul_, who,\nwe _think had the Spirit of_ God, and well understood the mind of\nhis master. [68]God _is my witness_, saith he, to the _Romans, that\nwithout ceasing, I make mention of you always in my prayers_: to the\n_Corinthians, [69]I call_ God _to record upon my soul, that to spare\nyou I came not as yet unto Corinth_: and to the _Philippians_. [70]God\n_is my record, how greatly I long after you, in the bowels of_ Jesus\nChrist. (Hence it undeniably appears, that if the apostle knew the\nmeaning of his Lord\u2019s words, they do not forbid swearing on weighty\noccasions, even to one another: how much less before a magistrate?)\nAnd lastly, from that assertion of the great apostle, concerning solemn\nswearing in general, (which it is impossible he could have mentioned\nwithout any touch of blame, if his Lord had totally forbidden it)\n[71]_Men verily swear by the greater_, (by one greater than themselves)\n_and an oath for confirmation is to them the end of all strife_.\n\n11. But the great lesson which our blessed Lord inculcates here, and\nwhich he illustrates by this example, is, that God is in all things,\nand that we are to see the Creator in the glass of every creature; that\nwe should use and look upon nothing as separate from God, which indeed\nis a kind of practical atheism; but with a true magnificence of thought,\nsurvey heaven and earth and all that is therein, as contained by God in\nthe hollow of his hand, who by his intimate presence holds them all in\nbeing, who pervades and actuates the whole created frame, and is, in a\ntrue sense, the soul of the universe.\n\n\nII. 1. Thus far our Lord has been more directly employed, in teaching\nthe religion of the heart. He has shewn, what Christians are to be. He\nproceeds to shew, what they are to do also: how inward holiness is to\nexert itself, in our outward conversation. _Blessed_, saith he, _are\nthe peace-makers; for they shall be called the children of_ God.\n\n2. _The peace-makers_: The word in the original is \u03bf\u1f31 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c1\u03b7\u03bd\u03bf\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03bf\u03af\u00b7 It\nis well known that \u03b5\u1f30\u03c1\u03ae\u03bd\u03b7 in the sacred writings, implies all manner\nof good; every blessing that relates either to the soul or the body,\nto time or eternity. Accordingly when St. _Paul_ in the titles of his\nepistles, wishes _grace and peace_ to the _Romans_ or the _Corinthians_,\nit is as if he had said, \u201cAs a fruit of the free, undeserved love and\nfavour of God, may you enjoy all blessings, spiritual and temporal, all\nthe good things which God hath prepared for them that love him.\u201d\n\n3. Hence we may easily learn, in how wide a sense, the term,\n_peace-makers_ is to be understood. In its literal meaning it implies,\nthose lovers of God and man, who utterly detest and abhor all strife\nand debate, all variance and contention: and accordingly labour with\nall their might, either to prevent this fire of hell from being kindled,\nor when it is kindled, from breaking out, or when it is broke out, from\nspreading any farther. They endeavour to calm the stormy spirits of men,\nto quiet their turbulent passions, to soften the minds of contending\nparties, and, if possible, reconcile them to each other. They use all\ninnocent arts, and employ all their strength, all the talents which God\nhas given them, as well to preserve peace, where it is, as to restore\nit, where it is not. It is the joy of their heart, to promote, to\nconfirm, to increase mutual good-will among men: but more especially\namong the children of God, however distinguished by things of smaller\nimportance; that as they have all _one_ Lord, _one faith_; as they\n_are_ all _called in one hope of their calling_, so they may all _walk\nworthy of the vocation wherewith they are called: with all lowliness\nand meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love;\nendeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace_.\n\n4. But in the full extent of the word, a _peace-maker_ is one, that as\nhe hath opportunity, _doth good unto all men_: one that being filled\nwith the love of God and of all mankind, cannot confine the expressions\nof it to his own family, or friends, or acquaintance, or party: or\nto those of his own opinions; no, nor those who are partakers of like\nprecious faith: but steps over all these narrow bounds, that he may\ndo good to every man: that he may some way or other manifest his love\nto neighbours and strangers, friends and enemies. He doth good to\nthem all, as he hath opportunity, that is on every possible occasion;\n_redeeming the time_, in order thereto, _buying up every opportunity_,\nimproving every hour, losing no moment wherein he may profit another.\nHe does good, not of one particular kind, but good in general: in every\npossible way, employing herein all his talents of every kind; all his\npowers and faculties of body and soul; all his fortune, his interest,\nhis reputation; desiring only, that when his Lord cometh he may say,\n\u201cWell done, good and faithful servant!\u201d\n\n5. He doth good, to the uttermost of his power, even to the bodies of\nall men. He rejoices to _deal his bread to the hungry_, and to _cover\nthe naked with a garment_. Is any a stranger? He takes him in, and\nrelieves him according to his necessities. Are any sick or in prison?\nHe visits them, and administers such help as they stand most in need\nof. And all this he does, not as unto man; but remembring him that hath\nsaid, _Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my\nbrethren, ye have done it unto me_.\n\n6. How much more does he rejoice, if he can do any good to the soul\nof any man? This power indeed belongeth unto God. It is he only that\nchanges the heart, without which every other change is lighter than\nvanity. Nevertheless it pleases him who worketh all in all, to help man\nchiefly by man; to convey his own power and blessing and love, through\none man to another. Therefore, although it be certain, that _the help\nwhich is done upon earth_ God _doth it himself_, yet has no man need,\non this account, to stand idle in his vineyard. The peace maker cannot:\nhe is ever labouring therein, and as an instrument in God\u2019s hand,\npreparing the ground for his Master\u2019s use, or sowing the seed of the\nkingdom, or watering what is already sown, if haply God may give the\nincrease. According to the measure of grace which he has received,\nhe uses all diligence, either to reprove the gross sinner, to reclaim\nthose who run on headlong in the broad way of destruction; or _to give\nlight to them that sit in darkness_, and are ready to _perish for lack\nof knowledge_; or to _support the weak_, to _lift up the hands that\nhang down and the feeble knees_; or to bring back and heal that which\nwas _lame_ and _turned out of the way_. Nor is he less zealous to\nconfirm those who are already striving to enter in at the strait gate;\nto strengthen those that stand, that they may _run with patience the\nrace which is set before them_; to _build up in_ their _most holy\nfaith_, those that know in whom they have believed: to exhort them\nto stir up the gift of God which is in them, that daily _growing in\ngrace, an entrance may be ministered unto them abundantly, into the\neverlasting kingdom of our_ Lord _and Saviour Jesus Christ_.\n\n7. Blessed are they who are thus continually employed, in the work\nof faith and the labour of love. _For they shall be called_, that\nis, _shall_ be (a common hebraism) _the children of_ God. God shall\ncontinue unto them the Spirit of adoption, yea, shall pour it more\nabundantly into their hearts. He shall bless them with all the\nblessings of his children. He shall acknowledge them as sons before\nangels and men; _and if sons, then heirs; heirs of_ God _and joint\nheirs with Christ_.\n\n\nIII. 1. One would imagine such a person as has been above described, so\nfull of genuine humility, so unaffectedly serious, so mild and gentle,\nso free from all selfish design, so devoted to God, and such an active\nlover of men, should be the darling of mankind. But our Lord was better\nacquainted with human nature, in its present state. He therefore closes\nthe character of this man of God, with shewing him the treatment he\nis to expect in the world. _Blessed_, saith he, _are they which are\npersecuted for righteousness sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven_.\n\n2. In order to understand this throughly, let us, first enquire, who\nare they that are persecuted. And this we may easily learn from St.\n_Paul: [72]As of old, he that was born after the flesh, persecuted\nhim that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Yea_, saith the\napostle, _and all that will live godly in_ Christ Jesus, _shall suffer\npersecution_. The same we are taught by St. _John. [73]Marvel not,\nmy brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from\ndeath unto life, because we love the brethren._ As if he had said, the\nbrethren, the Christians cannot be loved, but by them who have passed\nfrom death unto life. And most expresly, by our Lord: [74]_If the world\nhate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of\nthe world, the world would love its own; but because ye are not of the\nworld\u2015\u2015therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said\nunto you, The servant is not greater than his_ Lord. _If they have\npersecuted me, they will also persecute you._\n\nBy all these scriptures it manifestly appears, who they are that are\npersecuted: namely, the righteous, _he that is born after the Spirit;\nall that will live godly in_ Christ Jesus: they that are _passed from\ndeath unto life_; those who _are not of the world_: All those who are\nmeek and lowly in heart, that mourn for God, that hunger after his\nlikeness; all that love God and their neighbour, and therefore as they\nhave opportunity, do good unto all men.\n\n3. *If it be, secondly, enquired, why they are persecuted? The answer\nis equally plain and obvious. It is _for righteousness sake_; because\nthey are righteous; because they are _born after the Spirit_; because\nthey _will live godly in_ Christ Jesus; because they _are not of\nthe world_. Whatever may be pretended, this is the real cause: be\ntheir infirmities more or less, still if it were not for this, they\nwould be borne with, and the world would love its own. They are\npersecuted, because they are _poor in spirit_, that is, say the world,\n\u201cpoor-spirited, mean, dastardly souls, good for nothing, not fit to\nlive in the world:\u201d Because they _mourn_; \u201cthey are such dull, heavy,\nlumpish creatures, enough to sink any one\u2019s spirits that sees them:\nthey are mere death-heads; they kill innocent mirth, and spoil company\nwherever they come.\u201d Because they are _meek_; \u201ctame, passive fools,\njust fit to be trampled upon:\u201d Because they _hunger and thirst after\nrighteousness_; \u201ca parcel of hot-brained enthusiasts, gaping after\nthey know not what, not content with rational religion, but running\nmad after raptures and inward feelings:\u201d Because they are merciful,\nlovers of all, lovers of the evil and unthankful; \u201cencouraging all\nmanner of wickedness; nay, tempting people to do mischief by impunity:\nand men who, it is to be feared, have their own religion still to\nseek; very loose in their principles:\u201d Because they are pure in heart:\n\u201cuncharitable creatures! That damn all the world, but those that are of\ntheir own sort! Blasphemous wretches, that pretend to make God a liar,\nto live without sin!\u201d Above all, because they are peace-makers, because\nthey take all opportunities of doing good to all men. This is the grand\nreason why they have been persecuted in all ages, and will be \u2019till the\nrestitution of all things.\n\n\u201cIf they would but keep their religion to themselves, it would be\ntolerable. But it is this spreading their errors, this infecting so\nmany others, which is not to be endured. They do so much mischief in\nthe world, that they ought to be tolerated no longer. It is true, the\nmen do some things well enough; they relieve some of the poor. But this\ntoo, is only done to gain the more to their party; and so, in effect,\nto do the more mischief.\u201d Thus the men of the world sincerely think\nand speak. And the more the kingdom of God prevails, the more the\npeace-makers are enabled to propagate lowliness, meekness, and all\nother divine tempers; the more mischief is done, in their account.\nConsequently, the more are they enraged, against the authors of this,\nand the more vehemently will they persecute them.\n\n4. Let us, thirdly, enquire, who are they that persecute them? St.\n_Paul_ answers, _He that is born after the flesh_; every one who is\nnot _born of the Spirit_, or at least, desirous so to be: all that do\nnot, at least, labour to _live godly in Christ Jesus_: all that are\nnot _passed from death unto life_, and consequently cannot _love the\nbrethren: the world_, that is according to our Saviour\u2019s account, _they\nwho know not him that sent me_: they who know not God, even the loving,\npardoning God, by the teaching of his own Spirit.\n\nThe reason is plain. The spirit which is in the world is directly\nopposite to the Spirit which is of God. It must therefore needs be,\nthat those who are of the world, will be opposite to those who are\nof God. There is the utmost contrariety between them, in all their\nopinions, their desires, designs, and tempers. And hitherto _the\nleopard and the kid_, cannot _lie down_ in peace _together_. The proud,\nbecause he is proud, cannot but persecute the lowly; the light and\nairy, those that mourn: and so in every other kind; the unlikeness of\ndisposition, (were there no other) being a perpetual ground of enmity,\ntherefore (were it only on this account) all the servants of the devil,\nwill persecute the children of God.\n\n5. *Should it be inquired, fourthly, how they will persecute them?\nIt may be answered in general, just in that manner and measure which\nthe wise Disposer of all, sees will be most for his glory; will tend\nmost to his children\u2019s growth in grace, and the enlargement of his\nown kingdom. There is no one branch of God\u2019s government of the world,\nwhich is more to be admired than this. His ear is never heavy to the\nthreatnings of the persecutor, or the cry of the persecuted. His eye\nis ever open, and his hand stretched out, to direct every the minutest\ncircumstance. When the storm shall begin, how high it shall rise,\nwhich way it shall point its course, when and how it shall end, are all\ndetermined by his unerring wisdom. The ungodly are only a sword of his:\nan instrument which he uses, as it pleaseth him, and which itself, when\nthe gracious ends of his providence are answered, is cast into the fire.\n\nAt some rare times, as when Christianity was planted first, and while\nit was taking root in the earth; as also when the pure doctrine of\n_Christ_ began to be planted again in our nation: God permitted the\nstorm to rise high, and his children were called to resist unto blood.\nThere was a peculiar reason why he suffered this with regard to the\napostles, that their evidence might be the more unexceptionable. But\nfrom the annals of the church, we learn another, and a far different\nreason, why he suffered the heavy persecutions which arose in the\nsecond and third centuries: namely, because the mystery of iniquity did\nso strongly work, because of the monstrous corruptions which even then\nreigned in the church: these God chastised, and at the same time strove\nto heal, by those severe but necessary visitations.\n\nPerhaps the same observation may be made, with regard to the grand\npersecution in our own land. God had dealt very graciously with our\nnation; he had poured out various blessings upon us. He had given us\npeace abroad and at home; and a king wise and good, beyond his years.\nAnd above all, he had caused the pure light of his gospel, to arise\nand shine amongst us. But what return did he find? _He looked for\nrighteousness. But behold a cry!_ A cry of oppression and wrong, of\nambition and injustice, of malice and fraud and covetousness. Yea,\nthe cry of those who even then expired in the flames, entered into the\nears of the Lord of sabbaoth. It was then God arose to maintain his own\ncause, against those that held the truth in unrighteousness. Then he\nsold them into the hands of their persecutors, by a judgment mixt with\nmercy: an affliction to punish and yet a medicine to heal the \u2666grievous\nbackslidings of his people.\n\n6. But it is seldom God suffers the storm to rise so high, as torture\nor death or bonds or imprisonment. Whereas his children are frequently\ncalled to endure those lighter kinds of persecution; they frequently\nsuffer the estrangement of kinsfolks; the loss of the friends that were\nas their own soul. They find the truth of their Lord\u2019s word (concerning\nthe event, though not the design of his coming) [75]_Suppose ye that I\nam come to give peace upon earth? I tell you nay; but rather division._\nAnd hence will naturally follow loss of business or employment, and\nconsequently of substance. But all these circumstances likewise are\nunder the wise direction of God, who allots to every one what is most\nexpedient for him.\n\n7. But the persecution which attends all the children of God, is that\nour Lord describes in the following words. _Blessed are ye when men\nshall revile you and persecute you_ (shall persecute, by reviling you)\n_and say all manner of evil against you, falsely, for my sake_. This\ncannot fail: it is the very badge of our discipleship: it is one of\nthe seals of our calling. It is a sure portion, entailed on all the\nchildren of God: if we have it not, we are bastards and not sons.\nStrait thro\u2019 _evil report_, as well as _good report_, lies the only way\nto the kingdom. The meek, serious, humble, zealous lovers of God and\nman, are of good report among their brethren; but of evil report with\nthe world, who count and treat them _as the filth and off-scouring of\nall things_.\n\n8. Indeed some have supposed, that before the fulness of the Gentiles\nshall come in, the scandal of the cross will cease: that God will\ncause Christians to be esteemed and loved, even by those who are as\nyet in their sins. Yea, and sure it is, that even now, he at sometimes\nsuspends the contempt as well as the fierceness of men: _he makes a\nman\u2019s enemies to be at peace with him_ for a season, and gives him\nfavour with his bitterest persecutors. But setting aside this exempt\ncase, _the scandal of the cross is_ not yet _ceased_: but a man may say\nstill, _If I please men, I am not the servant of_ Christ: let no man\ntherefore regard that pleasing suggestion (pleasing doubtless to flesh\nand blood) \u201cThat bad men only _pretend_ to hate and despise them that\nare good, but do indeed love and esteem them in their hearts.\u201d Not so:\nthey may employ them sometimes; but it is for their own profit. They\nmay put confidence in them: for they know their ways are not like other\nmens. But still they love them not; unless so far as the Spirit of\nGod may be striving with them. Our Saviour\u2019s words are express: _If\nye were of the world, the world would love its own; but because ye are\nnot of the world, therefore the world hateth you_. Yea, (setting aside\nwhat exceptions may be made by the preventing grace or the peculiar\nprovidence of God) it hateth them as cordially and sincerely, as ever\nit did their Master.\n\n9. It remains only to enquire, how are the children of God to behave,\nwith regard to persecution? *And first, they ought not knowingly or\ndesignedly, to bring it upon themselves. This is contrary both to the\nexample and advice of our Lord and all his apostles; who teach us not\nonly not to seek, but to avoid it, as far as we can, without injuring\nour conscience; without giving up any part of that righteousness,\nwhich we are to prefer before life itself. So our Lord expresly,\n_When they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another_: which is\nindeed, when it can be taken, the most unexceptionable way of avoiding\npersecution.\n\n10. Yet think not, that you can always avoid it, either by this, or\nany other means. If ever that idle imagination steals into your heart,\nput it to flight by that earnest caution, _Remember the word that I\nsaid unto you, The servant is not greater than his_ Lord. _If they have\npersecuted me, they will also persecute you._ Be ye _wise as serpents,\nand harmless as doves_. But will this screen you from persecution? Not\nunless you have more wisdom than your Master, or more innocence than\nthe Lamb of God.\n\nNeither desire to avoid it, to escape it wholly; for if you do, you are\nnone of his. If you escape the persecution, you escape the blessing;\nthe blessing of those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. If you\nare not persecuted for righteousness sake, you cannot enter into the\nkingdom of heaven. _If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.\nBut if we deny him, he will also deny us._\n\n11. Nay, rather, _rejoice and be exceeding glad_, when men persecute\nyou for his sake: when _they persecute_ you by _reviling_ you, and by\n_saying all manner of evil against you falsely_; (which they will not\nfail to mix with every kind of persecution; they must blacken you to\nexcuse themselves.) _For so persecuted they the prophets which were\nbefore you_, those who were most eminently holy in heart and life; yea,\nand all the righteous which ever have been from the beginning of the\nworld. Rejoice, because by this mark also, ye know unto whom ye belong.\nAnd because _great is your reward in heaven_: the reward purchased\nby the blood of the covenant, and freely bestowed in proportion to\nyour sufferings, as well as to your holiness of heart and life. _Be\nexceeding glad_; knowing that _these light afflictions, which are but\nfor a moment, work out for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight\nof glory_.\n\n12. Mean time, let no persecution turn you out of the way of lowliness\nand meekness, of love and beneficence. [76]_Ye have heard_ indeed _that\nit hath been said, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth_. And\nyour miserable teachers have hence allowed you to avenge yourselves,\nto return evil for evil.\n\n_But I say unto you, that ye resist not evil_\u2015\u2015Not thus; not by\nreturning it in kind. _But_ (rather than do this) _whosoever smiteth\nthee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if any man\nwill sue thee at the law and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak\nalso. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain._\n\nSo invincible let thy meekness be. And be thy love suitable thereto.\n_Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee\nturn not thou away._ Only, give not away that which is another man\u2019s,\nthat which is not thine own. Therefore, 1. Take care to owe no man\nany thing. For what thou owest, is not thy own but another man\u2019s.\n2. Provide for those of thine own houshold. This also God hath required\nof thee: and what is necessary to sustain them in life and godliness,\nis also not thine own. Then, 3. Give or lend all that remains from day\nto day, or from year to year. Only first, seeing thou canst not give or\nlend to all, remember the houshold of faith.\n\n13. The meekness and love we are to feel, the kindness we are to shew\nto them which persecute us for righteousness sake, our blessed Lord\ndescribes farther in the following verses. O that they were graven upon\nour hearts!\n\n[77]_Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy\nneighbour and hate thy enemy._ (God indeed had said only the former\npart, _Thou shalt love thy neighbour_. The children of the devil\nhad added the latter, _and hate thy enemy_.) *_But I say unto you_,\n1. _Love your enemies_. See that you bear a tender good will, to those\nwho are most bitter of spirit against you, who wish you all manner of\nevil. 2. _Bless them that curse you._ Are there any whose bitterness\nof spirit breaks forth in bitter words? Who are continually cursing and\nreproaching you when you are present, and _saying all evil against you_\nwhen absent? So much the rather do you bless. In conversing with them,\nuse all mildness and softness of language. Reprove them, by repeating\na better lesson before them, by shewing them how they ought to have\nspoken. And in speaking of them, say all the good you can, without\nviolating the rules of truth and justice. 3. _Do good to them that hate\nyou._ Let your actions shew, that you are as real in love as they in\nhatred. Return good for evil. _Be not overcome of evil, but overcome\nevil with good._ 4. If you can do nothing more, at least _pray for\nthem that \u2666despitefully use you and persecute you_. You can never be\ndisabled from doing this; nor can all their malice or violence hinder\nyou. Pour out your souls to God, not only for those, who did this once,\nbut now repent. This is a little thing. [78]_If thy brother seven times\na day, turn and say unto thee, I repent_; that is, if after ever so\nmany relapses, he give thee reason to believe, that he is really and\nthroughly changed, _then thou shalt forgive him_, so as to trust him,\nto put him in thy bosom, as if he had never sinned against thee at\nall. But pray for, wrestle with God, for those that do not repent,\nthat now despitefully use thee and persecute thee. Thus far forgive\nthem, [79]_not until seven times only, but until seventy times seven_.\nWhether they repent or no, yea tho\u2019 they appear farther and farther\nfrom it, yet shew them this instance of kindness: _that ye may be the\nchildren_, that ye may approve yourselves the genuine children _of\nyour Father which is in heaven_, who shews his goodness by giving such\nblessings as they are capable of, even to his stubbornest enemies; _who\nmaketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain\non the just and on the unjust. [80]For if ye love them which love you,\nwhat reward have ye? Do not even the Publicans the same?_ Who pretend\nto no religion: whom ye yourselves acknowledge to be without God in\nthe world. [81]_And if ye salute_, shew kindness in word or deed,\nto _your brethren_, your friends or kinsfolk _only: what do ye more\nthan others_? Than those who have no religion at all? _Do not even\nthe Publicans so?_ Nay, but follow ye a better pattern than them. In\npatience, in long-suffering, in mercy, in beneficence of every kind,\nto all, even to your bitterest persecutors: [82]_Be ye_, Christians,\n_perfect_ (in kind, tho\u2019 not in degree) even _as your Father which is\nin heaven is perfect_.\n\n\nIII. *Behold Christianity in its native form! as delivered by its\ngreat Author! This is the genuine religion of _Jesus Christ_. Such he\npresents it to him whose eyes are opened. See a picture of God, so far\nas he is imitable by man! A picture drawn by God\u2019s own hand! _Behold,\nye despisers and wonder and perish!_ Or rather, wonder and adore!\nRather cry out, Is this the religion of _Jesus_ of _Nazareth_? The\nreligion which I persecuted! Let me no more be found even to fight\nagainst God. Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?\u2015\u2015What beauty\nappears in the whole! How just a symmetry! What exact proportion\nin every part! How desirable is the happiness here described? How\nvenerable, how lovely the holiness?\u2015\u2015This is the _spirit_ of religion:\nthe quintessence of it. These are indeed the _fundamentals_ of\nChristianity. O that we may not be hearers of it only! _Like a man\nbeholding his own face in a glass, who goeth his way, and straightway\nforgetteth what manner of man he was._ Nay, but let us steadily _look\ninto this perfect law of liberty, and continue therein_. Let us not\nrest, until every line thereof is transcribed into our own hearts. Let\nus watch and pray and believe and love, and _strive for the mastery_,\n\u2019till every part of it shall appear in our soul, graven there by the\nfinger of God: \u2019till we are _holy as he which hath called us is holy,\nperfect as our Father which is in heaven is perfect_!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXIV.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE IV.\n MATT. v. 13, 14, 15, 16.\n\n\n _Ye are the salt of the earth. But if the salt hath lost its\n savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good\n for nothing, but to be cast out, and trodden under foot of men.\n\n Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill\n cannot be hid.\n\n Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel; but on\n a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the house.\n\n Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good\n works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven._\n\n1. *THE beauty of holiness, of that inward man of the heart, which\nis renewed after the image of God, cannot but strike every eye which\nGod hath opened, every enlightened understanding. The ornament of\na meek, humble, loving spirit, will at least excite the approbation\nof all those who are capable in any degree of discerning spiritual\ngood and evil. From the hour men begin to emerge out of the darkness\nwhich covers the giddy, unthinking world, they cannot but perceive how\ndesirable a thing it is, to be thus transformed into the likeness of\nhim that created us. This inward religion bears the shape of God, so\nvisibly imprest upon it, that a soul must be wholly immersed in flesh\nand blood, when he can doubt of its divine original. We may say of this,\nin a secondary sense, even as of the Son of God himself, That it is the\n_brightness of his glory, the express image of his person_: \u1f00\u03c0\u03b1\u03cd\u03b3\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1\n\u2666\u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u00b7 _The beaming forth of his_ eternal _glory_; and yet\nso tempered and softened, that even the children of men, may herein see\nGod and live: \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u1f74\u03c1 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u1f51\u03c0\u03bf\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03c3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u00b7 _The character, the stamp,\nthe living impression, of his person_, who is the fountain of beauty\nand love, the original source of all excellency and perfection.\n\n3. If religion therefore were carried no farther than this, they could\nhave no doubt concerning it: they should have no objection against\npursuing it with the whole ardor of their souls. But why, say they,\nis it cloged with other things? What need of loading it with _doing_\nand _suffering_? These are what damps the vigour of the soul and sinks\nit down to earth again. Is it not enough to _follow after charity_? To\nsoar upon the wings of love? Will it not suffice, to worship God who\nis a Spirit, with the spirit of our minds, without incumbring ourselves\nwith outward things, or even thinking of them at all? Is it not better,\nthat the whole extent of our thoughts should be taken up with high and\nheavenly contemplation? And that instead of busying ourselves at all\nabout externals, we should only commune with God in our hearts?\n\n4. Many eminent men have spoken thus: have advised us \u201cTo cease from\nall outward actions;\u201d wholly to withdraw from the world; to leave the\nbody behind us; to abstract ourselves from all sensible things: to have\nno concern at all about outward religion, but to \u201cwork all virtues in\nthe will,\u201d as the far more excellent way, more perfective of the soul,\nas well as more acceptable to God.\n\n5. It needed not that any should tell our Lord, of this master-piece\nof the wisdom from beneath! This fairest of all the devices wherewith\n_Satan_ hath ever perverted the right ways of the Lord. And O! What\ninstruments hath he found from time to time, to employ in this his\nservice! To wield this grand engine of hell, against some of the most\nimportant truths of God! Men that _would deceive if it were possible\nthe very elect_; the men of faith and love: yea, that have for a season\ndeceived and led away no inconsiderable number of them; who have fallen\nin all ages into the gilded snare, and hardly escaped with the skin of\ntheir teeth.\n\n6. But has our Lord been wanting on his part? Has he not sufficiently\nguarded us against this pleasing delusion? Has he not armed us here\nwith armour of proof against Satan _transformed into an angel of\nlight_? Yea, verily: he here defends, in the clearest and strongest\nmanner, the active, patient religion he had just described: what can\nbe fuller and plainer than the words he immediately subjoins, to what\nhe had said of doing and suffering? _Ye are the salt of the earth. But\nif the salt have lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is\nthenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under foot\nof men. Ye are the light of the world: a city that is set on an hill\ncannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel;\nbut on a candlestick and it giveth light to all that are in the house.\nLet your light so shine before men that they may see your good works\nand glorify your Father which is in heaven._\n\nIn order fully to explain and inforce these important words, I shall\nendeavour to shew, First, That Christianity is essentially a social\nreligion, and that to turn it into a solitary one, is to destroy it:\nsecondly, That to conceal this religion is impossible, as well as\nutterly contrary to the design of its Author. I shall, thirdly, Answer\nsome objections; and conclude the whole with a practical application.\n\n\nI. 1. First. I shall endeavour to shew, that Christianity is\nessentially a social religion; and that to turn it into a solitary\nreligion, is indeed to destroy it.\n\nBy Christianity I mean, that method of worshipping God, which is here\nrevealed to man by _Jesus Christ_. When I say, This is essentially\na social religion, I mean not only, that it cannot subsist so well,\nbut that it cannot subsist at all without society, without living and\nconversing with other men. And in shewing this, I shall confine myself\nto those considerations, which will arise from the very discourse\nbefore us. But if this be shewn, then doubtless to turn this religion\ninto a solitary one, is to destroy it.\n\nNot that we can in any wise condemn, the intermixing solitude or\nretirement with society. This is not only allowable, but expedient:\nnay, it is necessary as daily experience shews, for every one that\neither already is, or desires to be a real Christian. It can hardly be\nthat we should spend one entire day, in a continued intercourse with\nmen, without suffering loss in our soul, and in some measure grieving\nthe Holy Spirit of God. We have need daily to retire from the world,\nat least, morning and evening, to converse with God, to commune more\nfreely with our Father which is in secret. Nor indeed can a man of\nexperience condemn, even longer seasons of religious retirement,\nso they do not imply any neglect of the worldly employ, wherein the\nprovidence of God has placed us.\n\n2. Yet such retirement must not swallow up all our time; this would be\nto destroy, not advance true religion. For, that the religion described\nby our Lord in the foregoing words, cannot subsist without society,\nwithout our living and conversing with other men, is manifest from\nhence, that several of the most essential branches thereof, can have\nno place, if we have no intercourse with the world.\n\n3. *There is no disposition (for instance) which is more essential to\nChristianity than meekness. Now altho\u2019 this, as it implies resignation\nto God, or patience in pain and sickness, may subsist in a desert,\nin a hermit\u2019s cell, in total solitude; yet as it implies (which it no\nless necessarily does) mildness, gentleness, and long-suffering, it\ncannot possibly have a being, it has no place under heaven, without\nan intercourse with other men. So that to attempt turning this into a\nsolitary virtue, is to destroy it from the face of the earth.\n\n4. *Another necessary branch of true Christianity, is peace-making,\nor doing of good. That this is equally essential with any of the other\nparts of the religion of _Jesus Christ_, there can be no stronger\nargument to evince (and therefore it would be absurd to alledge any\nother) than that it is here inserted in the original plan he has laid\ndown, of the fundamentals of his religion. Therefore to set aside this,\nis the same daring insult on the authority of our great Master, as\nto set aside mercifulness, purity of heart, or any other branch of\nhis institution. But this is apparently set aside, by all who call us\nto the wilderness; who recommend entire solitude either to the babes,\nor the young men, or the fathers in _Christ_. For will any man affirm,\nthat a solitary Christian (so called, tho\u2019 it is little less than a\ncontradiction in terms) can be a merciful man? That is, one that takes\nevery opportunity of doing all good to all men? What can be more plain\nthan that this fundamental branch of the religion of _Jesus Christ_,\ncannot possibly subsist without society, without our living and\nconversing with other men?\n\n5. But is it not expedient however (one might naturally ask) to\nconverse only with good men? Only with those whom we know to be meek\nand merciful; holy of heart, and holy of life? Is it not expedient to\nrefrain from any conversation or intercourse, with men of the opposite\ncharacter? Men who do not obey, perhaps do not believe, the gospel of\nour Lord _Jesus Christ_? The advice of St. _Paul_ to the Christians at\n_Corinth_, may seem to favour this. [83]_I wrote unto you in an epistle,\nnot to company with fornicators._ And it is certainly not adviseable\nso to company with them, or with any of the workers of iniquity, as\nto have any particular familiarity, or any strictness of friendship\nwith them. To contract or continue an intimacy with any such, is no way\nexpedient for a Christian. It must necessarily expose him to abundance\nof dangers and snares, out of which he can have no reasonable hope of\ndeliverance.\n\nBut the apostle does not forbid us, to have any intercourse at all,\neven with the men that know not God. For then, says he, _ye must needs\ngo out of the world_, which he could never advise them to do. But he\nsubjoins, [84]_If any man that is called a brother_, that professes\nhimself a Christian, _be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator, or\na railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner\u2015\u2015Now I have written unto you\nnot to keep company_ with him; _with such an one, no not to eat_. This\nmust necessarily imply, that we break off all familiarity, all intimacy\nof acquaintance with them. [85]_Yet count him not_, saith the apostle\nelsewhere _as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother_: plainly shewing,\nthat even in such a case as this, we are not to renounce all fellowship\nwith him: so that here is no advice, to separate wholly, even from\nwicked men. Yea, these very words teach us quite the contrary.\n\n6. Much more the words of our Lord: who is so far from directing us,\nto break off all commerce with the world, that without it, according to\nhis account of Christianity, we cannot be Christians at all. *It would\nbe easy to shew, that some intercourse even with ungodly and unholy\nmen, is absolutely needful in order to the full exertion of every\ntemper, which he has described as the way to the kingdom: that it is\nindispensably necessary in order to the compleat exercise of poverty of\nspirit, of mourning, and of every other disposition which has a place\nhere, in the genuine religion of _Jesus Christ_. Yea, it is necessary\nto the very being of several of them; of that meekness, for example,\nwhich instead of demanding _an eye for an eye, or a tooth for a tooth_,\ndoth _not resist evil_; but causes us rather, when smitten _on the\nright cheek, to turn the other also_: of that mercifulness, whereby we\n_love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate\nus, and pray for them which despitefully use us and persecute us_: and\nof that complication of love and all holy tempers, which is exercised\nin suffering for righteousness sake. Now all these, it is clear, could\nhave no being, were we to have no commerce with any but real Christians.\n\n7. *Indeed were we wholly to separate ourselves from sinners, how could\nwe possibly answer that character, which our Lord gives us in these\nvery words: _ye_ (Christians, ye that are lowly, serious and meek; ye\nthat hunger after righteousness, that love God and man, that do good\nto all, and therefore suffer evil: ye) _are the salt of the earth_. It\nis your very nature to season whatever is round about you. It is the\nnature of the divine savour which is in you, to spread to whatsoever\nyou touch; to diffuse itself, on every side, to all those among whom\nyou are. This is the great reason why the providence of God has so\nmingled you together with other men, that whatever grace you have\nreceived of God may through you be communicated to others; that every\nholy temper, and word, and work of yours, may have an influence on\nthem also. By this means a check will in some measure be given, to the\ncorruption which is in the world; and a small part, at least, saved\nfrom the general infection, and rendered holy and pure before God.\n\n8. That we may the more diligently labour to season all we can, with\nevery holy and heavenly temper, our Lord proceeds to shew the desperate\nstate of those, who do not impart the religion they have received:\nwhich indeed they cannot possibly fail to do, so long as it remains in\ntheir own hearts. _If the salt hath lost its savour, wherewith shalt it\nbe salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and\ntrodden under foot of men._ If ye who were holy and heavenly-minded,\nand consequently zealous of good works, have no longer that savour in\nyourselves, and do therefore no longer season others; if you are grown\nflat, insipid, dead, both careless of your own soul, and useless to the\nsouls of other men, _wherewith shall ye be salted_? How shall ye be\nrecovered? What help? What hope? Can tasteless salt be restored to its\nsavour! No; _it is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out_,\neven as the mire in the streets, _and to be trodden under foot of men_,\nto be overwhelmed with everlasting contempt. If ye had never known the\nLord, there might have been hope, if ye had never been _found in him_.\nBut what can you now say to that his solemn declaration, just parallel\nto what he hath here spoken? [86]_Every branch in me that beareth not\nfruit, he_ (the Father) _taketh away. He that abideth in me, and I in\nhim, bringeth forth much fruit.\u2015\u2015If a man abide not in me_, (or, do\nnot bring forth fruit) _he is cast out as a branch and withered; and\nmen gather them_ (not to plant them again, but) _to cast them into the\nfire_.\n\n9. Toward those who have never tasted of the good word, God is indeed\npitiful and of tender mercy. But justice takes place with regard to\nthose who have tasted that the Lord is gracious, and have afterwards\n_turned back from the holy commandment_ then _delivered to them.\n[87]For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened_, in\nwhose hearts God had once shined, to enlighten them with the knowledge\nof the glory of God, in the face of _Jesus Christ; who have tasted\nof the heavenly gift_, of redemption in his blood, the forgiveness of\nsins; _and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost_, of lowliness, of\nmeekness, and of the love of God and man shed abroad in their hearts,\nby the Holy Ghost which was given unto them: _and have fallen away_,\n\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03c3\u03cc\u03bd\u03c4\u03b1\u03c2\u00b7 (Here is not a supposition, but a flat declaration\nof matter of fact) _to renew them again unto repentance: seeing they\ncrucify to themselves the Son of_ God _afresh, and put him to an open\nshame_.\n\nBut that none may misunderstand these awful words, it should be\ncarefully observed, 1. Who they are that are here spoken of; namely,\nthey, and they only, who _were once_ thus _enlightened_. They only _who\ndid taste of_ that _heavenly gift, and were_ thus _made partakers of\nthe Holy Ghost_. So that all who have not experienced these things,\nare wholly unconcerned in this scripture. 2. What that falling away is\nwhich is here spoken of. It is an absolute, total apostacy. A believer\nmay fall, and not fall away. He may fall and rise again. And if he\nshould fall, even into sin, yet this case, dreadful as it is, is not\ndesperate. For _we have an Advocate with the Father_, Jesus Christ _the\nrighteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins_. But let him above\nall things beware, lest his _heart be hardened by the deceitfulness of\nsin_: lest he should sink lower and lower, \u2019till he wholly fall away,\n\u2019till he become as _salt_ that hath _lost its savour: for if we_ thus\n_sin wilfully, after we have received the_ experimental _knowledge of\nthe truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins: but a certain,\nfearful looking for of fiery indignation, which shall devour the\nadversaries_.\n\n\nII. 1. \u201cBut although we may not wholly separate ourselves from\nmankind, although it be granted, we ought to season them, with the\nreligion which God has wrought in our hearts, yet may not this be done\ninsensibly? May we not convey this into others in a secret, and almost\nimperceptible manner? So that scarce any one shall be able to observe,\nhow or when it is done? Even as salt conveys its own savour, into that\nwhich is seasoned thereby, without any noise, and without being liable\nto any outward observation. And if so, altho\u2019 we do not go out of the\nworld, yet we may lie hid in it. We may thus far keep our religion to\nourselves, and not offend those whom we cannot help.\u201d\n\n2. Of this plausible reasoning of flesh and blood, our Lord was well\naware also. And he has given a full answer to it in those words, which\ncome now to be considered: in explaining which I shall endeavour to\nshew, as I proposed to do in the second place, that so long as true\nreligion abides in our hearts, it is impossible to conceal it, as well\nas absolutely contrary to the design of its great Author.\n\nAnd, first, it is impossible for any that have it, to conceal the\nreligion of _Jesus Christ_. This our Lord makes plain beyond all\ncontradiction, by a two-fold comparison. _Ye are the light of the\nworld. A city set upon an hill cannot be hid._\n\n_Ye_ Christians _are the light of the world_, with regard both to your\ntempers and actions. Your holiness makes you as conspicuous, as the sun\nin the midst of heaven. As ye cannot go out of the world, so neither\ncan ye stay in it, without appearing to all mankind. Ye may not flee\nfrom men, and while ye are among them, it is impossible to hide your\nlowliness and meekness, and those other dispositions whereby ye aspire\nto be perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Love\ncannot be hid any more than light; and least of all, when it shines\nforth in action; when ye exercise yourselves in the labour of love, in\nbeneficence of every kind. As well may men think to hide a city, as to\nhide a Christian: yea, as well may they conceal a city set upon a hill,\nas a holy, zealous, active lover of God and man.\n\n3. It is true, men who love darkness rather than light, because their\ndeeds are evil, will take all possible pains to prove, that the light\nwhich is in you is darkness. They will say evil, all manner of evil,\nfalsely, of the good which is in you: they will lay to your charge that\nwhich is farthest from your thoughts, which is the very reverse of all\nyou are and all you do. And your patient continuance in well-doing,\nyour meek suffering all things for the Lord\u2019s sake, your calm, humble\njoy in the midst of persecution, your unwearied labour to overcome evil\nwith good, will make you still more visible and conspicuous than ye\nwere before.\n\n4. *So impossible it is, to keep our religion from being seen, unless\nwe cast it away: so vain is the thought, of hiding the light, unless by\nputting it out. Sure it is, that a secret, unobserved religion cannot\nbe the religion of _Jesus Christ_. Whatever religion can be concealed,\nis not Christianity. If a Christian could be hid, he could not be\ncompared to a city set upon an hill; to the light of the world, the sun\nshining from heaven, and seen by all the world below. Never therefore\nlet it enter into the heart of him whom God hath renewed in the spirit\nof his mind, to hide that light, to keep his religion to himself;\nespecially considering it is not only impossible, to conceal true\nChristianity, but likewise absolutely contrary to the design of the\ngreat Author of it.\n\n5. This plainly appears from the following words: _neither do men\nlight a candle to put it under a bushel_. *As if he had said, as men\ndo not light a candle, only to cover and conceal it, so neither does\nGod enlighten any soul with his glorious knowledge and love, to have it\ncovered or concealed, either by prudence, falsely so called, or shame,\nor voluntary humility: to have it hid either in a desert, or in the\nworld; either by avoiding men, or in conversing with them. _But they\nput it on a candlestick, and it giveth light to all that are in the\nhouse._ In like manner, it is the design of God, that every Christian\nshould be in an open point of view: that he may give light to all\naround, that he may visibly express the religion of _Jesus Christ_.\n\n6. Thus hath God in all ages spoken to the world, not only by precept\nbut by example also. He hath _not left himself without witness_ in any\nnation, where the sound of the gospel hath gone forth, without a few\nwho testified his truth, by their lives as well as their words. These\nhave been _as lights shining in a dark place_. And from time to time\nthey have been the means of enlightning some, of preserving a remnant,\na little seed, which was _counted unto the_ Lord _for a generation_.\nThey have led a few poor sheep out of the darkness of the world, and\nguided their feet into the way of peace.\n\n7. One might imagine, that \u2666where both scripture and the reason of\nthings speak so clearly and expresly, there could not be much advanced\non the other side, at least, not with any appearance of truth. But\nthey who imagine thus, know little of the depths of _Satan_. After all\nthat scripture and reason have said, so exceeding plausible are the\npretences for solitary religion, for a Christian\u2019s going out of the\nworld, or at least hiding himself in it, that we need all the wisdom\nof God to see through the snare, and all the power of God to escape it:\nso many and strong are the objections which have been brought against\nbeing social, open, active Christians.\n\n\nIII. 1. To answer these was the third thing which I proposed. And,\nfirst, it has been often objected, that religion does not lie in\noutward things, but in the heart, the inmost soul: that it is the\nunion of the soul with God, the life of God in the soul of man: that\noutside religion is nothing worth; seeing God _delighteth not in burnt\nofferings_, in outward services, but a pure and holy heart is the\n_sacrifice he will not despise_.\n\nI answer, it is most true, that the root of religion lies in the heart,\nin the inmost soul: that this is, the union of the soul with God, the\nlife of God in the soul of man. But if this root be really in the heart,\nit cannot but put forth branches. And these are, the several instances\nof outward obedience, which partake of the same nature with the root;\nand consequently, are not only marks or signs, but substantial parts of\nreligion.\n\nIt is also true, that bare outside religion, which has no root in the\nheart, is nothing worth; that God delighteth not in _such_ outward\nservices, no more than in Jewish burnt-offerings, and that a pure and\nholy heart is a sacrifice, with which he is always well pleased. But\nhe is also well pleased with all that outward service, which arises\nfrom the heart: with the sacrifice of our prayers, (whether public or\nprivate) of our praises and thanksgivings: with the sacrifice of our\ngoods, humbly devoted to him, and employed wholly to his glory: and\nwith that of our bodies, which he peculiarly claims; which the apostle\n_beseeches_ us, _by the mercies of_ God, _to present unto him, a living\nsacrifice, holy, acceptable to_ God.\n\n2. A second objection, nearly related to this, is, that love is all in\nall: that it is _the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment_,\nof every commandment of God: that all we do and all we suffer, if we\nhave not charity, or love, profiteth us nothing: And therefore the\napostle directs us, _to follow after charity_, and terms this, _the\nmore excellent way_.\n\nI answer, it is granted, that the love of God and man, arising from\n_faith unfeigned_, is all in all, the fulfilling of the law, the end\nof every commandment of God. It is true, that without this whatever\nwe do, whatever we suffer profits us nothing. But it does not follow,\nthat love is all in such a sense, as to supersede either faith or good\nworks. It is _the fulfilling of the law_, not by releasing us from,\nbut by constraining us to obey it. It is _the end of the commandment_,\nas every commandment leads to and centers in it. It is allowed, that\nwhatever we do or suffer, without love, profits us nothing. But withal\nwhatever we do or suffer in love, though it were only the suffering\nreproach for _Christ_, or the giving a cup of cold water in his name,\nit shall in no wise lose its reward.\n\n3. \u201cBut does not the apostle direct us, to _follow after charity_?\nAnd does he not term it, _a more excellent way_?\u201d\u2015\u2015He does direct us\nto _follow after charity_. But not after that alone. His words are,\n[88]_Follow after charity; and desire spiritual gifts_. Yea, _follow\nafter charity_; and desire to spend and to be spent for your brethren.\n_Follow after charity_; and as you have opportunity, do good to all men.\n\nIn the same verse also, wherein he terms this, the way of love, _a\nmore excellent way_, he directs the _Corinthians_ to desire other gifts\nbesides it: Yea to desire them earnestly. [89]_Covet earnestly_, saith\nhe, _the best gifts: and yet I shew unto you a more excellent way_.\nMore excellent than what? Than the gifts of _healing_, of _speaking\nwith tongues_, and of _interpreting_, mentioned in the preceding verse.\nBut not more excellent than the way of obedience. Of this the apostle\nis not speaking. Neither is he speaking of outward religion at all. So\nthat this text is quite wide of the present question.\n\nBut suppose the apostle had been speaking of outward as well as inward\nreligion, and comparing them together: suppose in the comparison he\nhad given the preference ever so much to the latter: suppose he had\npreferred (as he justly might) a loving heart, before all outward works\nwhatever: Yet it would not follow, that we were to reject, either one\nor the other. No; God hath joined them together from the beginning of\nthe world. And let not man put them asunder.\n\n4. \u201cBut God _is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship him\nin Spirit and in truth_. And is not this enough? Nay, ought we not\nto employ the whole strength of our mind herein? Does not attending\nto outward things, clog the soul, that it cannot soar aloft in holy\ncontemplation? Does it not damp the vigour of our thought? Has it not a\nnatural tendency, to incumber and distract the mind? Whereas St. _Paul_\nwould have us _to be without carefulness_, and to _wait upon the_ Lord\n_without distraction_.\u201d\n\n*I answer, God is a Spirit, and they that worship him, must worship\nhim in Spirit and in truth. Yea, and this is enough: we ought to employ\nthe whole strength of our mind therein. But then I would ask, What\nis it to worship God, a Spirit, in spirit and in truth? Why, it is to\nworship him with our spirit; to worship him in that manner, which none\nbut spirits are capable of. It is, to believe in him, as a wise, just,\nholy being, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity: and yet merciful,\ngracious and long-suffering; forgiving iniquity and transgression\nand sin: casting all our sins behind his back, and accepting us in\nthe beloved. It is, to love him, to delight in him, to desire him,\nwith all our heart and mind and soul and strength: to imitate him we\nlove, by purifying ourselves, even as he is pure; and to obey him whom\nwe love and in whom we believe, both in thought and word and work.\nConsequently, one branch of the worshipping God in spirit and in truth,\nis the keeping his outward commandments. To glorify him therefore\nwith our bodies as well as with our spirits, to go through outward\nwork with hearts lifted up to him, to make our daily employment a\nsacrifice to God; to buy and sell, to eat and drink to his glory: this\nis worshipping God in spirit and in truth, as much as the praying to\nhim in a wilderness.\n\n5. *But if so, then contemplation is only one way of worshipping God in\nspirit and in truth. Therefore to give ourselves up entirely to this,\nwould be to destroy many branches of spiritual worship, all equally\nacceptable to God, and equally profitable, not hurtful to the soul. For\nit is a great mistake to suppose, That an attention to those outward\nthings, whereto the providence of God hath called us, is any clog to\na Christian, or any hindrance at all to his always seeing him that is\ninvisible. It does not at all damp the ardor of his thought, it does\nnot incumber or distract his mind; it gives him no uneasy or hurtful\ncare, who does it all as unto the Lord: who hath learned, whatsoever he\ndoth in word or deed, to do all in the name of the Lord Jesus: having\nonly one eye of the soul, which moves round on outward things, and one\nimmoveably fixt on God. Learn what this meaneth, ye poor recluses, that\nyou may clearly discern your own littleness of faith. Yea, that you may\nno longer judge others by yourselves, go and learn what that meaneth:\n\n Thou, O Lord, in tender love\n Dost all my burdens bear;\n Lift my heart to things above,\n And fix it ever there.\n Calm on tumult\u2019s wheel I sit;\n Midst busy multitudes alone,\n Sweetly waiting at thy feet,\n Till all thy will be done.\n\n6. But the grand objection is still behind. \u201cWe appeal, say they, to\nexperience. Our light did shine: we used outward things many years: and\nyet they profited nothing. We attended on all the ordinances: but we\nwere no better for it; nor indeed any one else: nay we were the worse.\nFor we fancied ourselves Christians for so doing, when we knew not what\nChristianity meant.\u201d\n\nI allow the fact. I allow that you and ten thousand more have thus\nabused the ordinances of God: mistaking the means for the end:\nsupposing that the doing these, or some other outward works, either\nwas the religion of _Jesus Christ_, or would be accepted in the place\nof it. But let the abuse be taken away and the use remain. Now use all\noutward things; but use them with a constant eye to the renewal of your\nsoul in righteousness and true holiness.\n\n7. But this is not all. They affirm, \u201cExperience likewise shews, That\nthe trying to do good is but lost labour: what does it avail to feed or\ncloath men\u2019s bodies, if they are just dropping into everlasting fire?\nAnd what good can any man do to their souls? If these are changed, God\ndoth it himself. Besides, all men are either good, at least desirous\nso to be, or obstinately evil. Now the former have no need of us. Let\nthem ask help of God, and it shall be given them. And the latter will\nreceive no help from us. Nay, and our Lord forbids, to _cast our pearls\nbefore swine_.\u201d\n\nI answer, 1. Whether they will finally be lost or saved, you are\nexpresly commanded to feed the hungry and cloath the naked. If you\ncan, and do not, whatever becomes of them, you shall go away into\neverlasting fire. 2. Though it is God only changes hearts, yet he\ngenerally doth it by man. It is our part to do all that in us lies, as\ndiligently as if we could change them ourselves, and then to leave the\nevent to him. 3. God in answer to their prayers, builds up his children\nby each other in every good gift; nourishing and strengthning the whole\n_body, by that which every joint supplieth_. So that _the eye cannot\nsay to the hand, I have no need of thee_; no, nor even _the head to\nthe feet, I have no need of you_. Lastly, how are you assured, that the\npersons before you are dogs or swine? Judge them not, until you have\ntried. _How knowest thou, O man, but thou mayest gain thy brother?_ But\nthou mayest, under God, save his soul from death? When he spurns thy\nlove and blasphemes the good word, then it is time to give him up to\nGod.\n\n8. \u201cWe have tried. We have laboured to reform sinners. And what did\nit avail? On many we could make no impression at all: and if some were\nchanged for a while, yet their goodness was but as the morning dew;\nand they were soon as bad, nay worse than ever. So that we only hurt\nthem\u2015\u2015and ourselves too; for our minds were hurried and discomposed:\nperhaps filled with anger instead of love. Therefore we had better have\nkept our religion to ourselves.\u201d\n\nIt is very possible this fact also may be true: That you have tried to\ndo good and have not succeeded; yea, that those who seemed reformed,\nrelapsed into sin, and their last state was worse than the first.\nAnd what marvel? Is the servant above his Master? But how often did\nhe strive to save sinners; and they would not hear: or when they had\nfollowed him a while, they turned back as a dog to his vomit. But he\ndid not therefore desist from striving to do good: no more should you,\nwhatever your success be. It is your part, to do as you are commanded:\nthe event is in the hand of God. You are not accountable for this:\nleave it to him, who orders all things well. _In the morning sow thy\nseed, and in the evening with-hold not thy hand; for thou knowest not\nwhether shall prosper_, Eccles. \u2666xi. 6.\n\n\u201cBut the trial hurries and frets your own soul.\u201d Perhaps it did so\nfor this very reason, because you thought you was accountable for the\nevent, which no man is, nor indeed can be. Or perhaps, because you\nwas off your guard; you was not watchful over your own spirit. But\nthis is no reason for disobeying God. Try again; but try more warily\nthan before. Do good (as you forgive) _not seven times only; but until\nseventy times seven_. Only be wiser by experience: attempt it every\ntime more cautiously than before. Be more humbled before God, more\ndeeply convinced, that of yourself you can do nothing. Be more jealous\nover your own spirit: more gentle and watchful unto prayer. Thus _cast\nyour bread upon the waters, and you shall find it again after many\ndays_.\n\n\nIV. 1. Notwithstanding all these plausible pretences for hiding it,\n_Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good\nworks, and glorify your Father which is in heaven_. This is the\npractical application which our Lord himself makes of the foregoing\nconsiderations.\n\n_Let your light so shine_\u2015\u2015Your lowliness of heart, your gentleness\nand meekness of wisdom: your serious, weighty concern for the things\nof eternity, and sorrow for the sins and miseries of men: your earnest\ndesire of universal holiness and full happiness in God: your tender\ngood-will to all mankind, and fervent love to your supreme benefactor.\nEndeavour not to conceal this light, wherewith God hath enlightened\nyour soul: but let it _shine before men_, before all with whom you\nare, in the whole tenor of your conversation. Let it shine still more\neminently in your actions, in your doing all possible good to all men:\nand in your suffering for righteousness sake, while you _rejoice and\nare exceeding glad, knowing that great is your reward in heaven_.\n\n2. _Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good\nworks_: so far let a Christian be from ever designing, or desiring to\nconceal his religion. On the contrary, let it be your desire, not to\nconceal it; not to put the _light under a bushel_. Let it be your care,\nto place it _on a candlestick, that it may give light to all that are\nin the house_. Only take heed, not to seek your own praise herein, not\nto desire any honour to yourselves. But let it be your sole aim, that\nall, who see your good works, may _glorify your Father which is in\nheaven_.\n\n3. *Be this your one ultimate end in all things. With this view, be\nplain, open, undisguised, let your love be without dissimulation: why\nshould you hide fair, disinterested love? Let there be no guile found\nin your mouth: let your words be the genuine picture of your heart. Let\nthere be no darkness or reservedness in your conversation, no disguise\nin your behaviour. Leave this to those who have other designs in view;\ndesigns which will not bear the light. Be ye artless and simple to\nall mankind; that all may see the grace of God which is in you. And\nalthough some will harden their hearts, yet others will take knowledge,\nthat ye have been with _Jesus_, and by returning themselves _to the\ngreat Bishop of their souls, glorify your Father which is in heaven_.\n\n4. *With this one design, that men may _glorify_ God _in you_, go on\nin his name, and in the power of his might. Be not ashamed, even to\nstand alone, so it be in the ways of God. Let the light which is in\nyour heart, shine in all good works, both works of piety and works of\nmercy. And in order to enlarge your ability of doing good, renounce all\nsuperfluities. Cut off all unnecessary expence, in food, in furniture,\nin apparel. Be a good steward of every gift of God, even of these his\nlowest gifts. Cutoff all unnecessary expence of time, all needless or\nuseless employments. And _whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with\nthy might_. In a word, be thou full of faith and love: do good: suffer\nevil. And herein be thou _stedfast, unmoveable_: yea, _always abounding\nin the work of the_ Lord; _forasmuch as thou knowest that thy labour is\nnot in vain in the_ Lord.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXV.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE V.\n MATT. v. 17, 18, 19, 20.\n\n\n _Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets; I\n am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.\n\n For verily I say unto you, \u2019till heaven and earth pass, one jot\n or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, \u2019till all be\n fulfilled.\n\n Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,\n and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the\n kingdom of heaven; but whosoever shall do and teach them, the\n same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.\n\n For verily I say unto you, except your righteousness shall exceed\n the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no\n case enter into the kingdom of heaven._\n\n1. AMONG the multitude of reproaches which fell upon him who _was\ndespised and rejected of men_, it could not fail to be one, that he\nwas a teacher of novelties, an introducer of a _new religion_. This\nmight be affirmed with the more colour, because many of the expressions\nhe had used, were not common among the _Jews_: either they did not\nuse them at all, or not in the same sense, not in so full and strong\na meaning. Add to this, that the worshipping God _in spirit and in\ntruth_, must always appear a new religion, to those who have hitherto\nknown nothing but outside worship, nothing but the _form of godliness_.\n\n2. And \u2019tis not improbable, some might hope it was so: that he was\nabolishing the old religion, and bringing in another; one which they\nmight flatter themselves, would be an easier way to heaven. But our\nLord refutes in these words both the vain hopes of the one, and the\ngroundless calumnies of the other.\n\nI shall consider them in the same order as they lie, taking each verse\nfor a distinct head of discourse.\n\n\nI. 1. And, first, _Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the\nprophets. I am not come to destroy but to fulfil._\n\nThe ritual or ceremonial law, delivered by _Moses_ to the children of\n_Israel_, containing all the injunctions and ordinances which related\nto the old sacrifices and service of the temple, our Lord indeed did\ncome to destroy, to dissolve and utterly abolish. To this bear all\nthe apostles witness: not only _Barnabas_ and _Paul_, who vehemently\nwithstood those who taught, that Christians [90]_ought to keep the law\nof_ Moses; not only St. _Peter_, who termed the insisting on this, on\nthe observance of the ritual law, a [91]_tempting_ God, _and putting a\nyoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers_, saith\nhe, _nor we were able to bear_: but _all the apostles, elders and\nbrethren, being assembled with one accord_, declared, that to command\nthem to keep this law, was to [92]_subvert their souls_; and that _it\nseemed good to the Holy Ghost and to them, to lay no_ such _burthen\nupon_ them. This _hand-writing of ordinances our_ Lord did _blot out,\ntake away and nail to his cross_.\n\n2. But the moral law, contained in the ten commandments, and inforced\nby the prophets, he did not take away. It was not the design of his\ncoming, to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be\nbroken, which _stands fast as the faithful witness in heaven_. The\nmoral stands on an entirely different foundation, from the ceremonial\nor ritual law; which was only designed for a temporary restraint\nupon a disobedient and stiff-necked people: whereas this was from the\nbeginning of the world; being _written not on tables of stone_, but\non the hearts of all the children of men, when they came out of the\nhands of the Creator. And however the letters once wrote by the finger\nof God, are now in a great measure defaced by sin, yet can they not\nwholly be blotted out, while we have any consciousness of good and\nevil. Every part of this law must remain in force, upon all mankind,\nand in all ages: as not depending either on time or place, or any\nother circumstances liable to change; but on the nature of God, and\nthe nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.\n\n3. _I am not come to destroy but to fulfil._ Some have conceived\nour Lord to mean, I am come to fulfil this, by my entire and perfect\nobedience to it. And it cannot be doubted but he did, in this sense,\nfulfil every part of it. But this does not appear to be what he intends\nhere, being foreign to the scope of his present discourse. Without\nquestion his meaning in this place is, (consistently with all that\ngoes before and follows after) _I am come_ to establish it in its\nfulness, in spite of all the glosses of men. I am come to place in a\nfull and clear view, whatsoever was dark or obscure therein. I am come\nto declare the true and full import of every part of it: to shew the\nlength and breadth, the entire extent of every commandment contained\ntherein: and the height and depth, the inconceivable purity and\nspirituality of it in all its branches.\n\n4. And this our Lord has abundantly performed in the preceding and\nsubsequent parts of the discourse before us: in which he has not\nintroduced a new religion into the world, but the same which was from\nthe beginning: a religion, the substance of which is without question,\n\u201cas old as the creation:\u201d being coeval with man, and having proceeded\nfrom God, at the very time when _man became a living soul_: (the\nsubstance, I say, for some circumstances of it, now relate to man as\na fallen creature.) A religion witnessed to both by the law, and by\nthe prophets in all succeeding generations. Yet was it never so fully\nexplained, nor so thoroughly understood, \u2019till the great Author of it\nhimself, condescended to give mankind this authentic comment on all the\nessential branches of it: at the same time declaring it should never be\nchanged, but remain in force to the end of the world.\n\n\nII. 1. _For verily I say unto you_ (a solemn preface, which denotes\nboth the importance and certainty of what is spoken) _\u2019till heaven and\nearth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law\n\u2019till all be fulfilled_.\n\n_One jot_\u2015\u2015It is literally, _not one Iota_, not the most inconsiderable\nvowel, _or one tittle_, \u03bc\u03af\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u03af\u03b1, one corner, or point of a consonant.\nIt is a proverbial expression, which signifies that no one commandment\ncontained in the moral law, nor the least part of one, however\ninconsiderable it might seem, should ever be disannulled.\n\n_Shall in no wise pass from the law_: \u03bf\u1f50 \u03bc\u1f74 \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03ad\u03bb\u03b8\u03b7 \u1f00\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03bd\u03cc\u03bc\u03bf\u03c5\u00b7 The\ndouble negative here used, strengthens the sense, so as to admit of no\ncontradiction. And the word \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03ad\u03bb\u03b8\u03b7, it may be observed, is not barely\n_future_; declaring what _will_ be: but has likewise the force of an\n_imperative_; ordering what _shall_ be. It is a word of authority,\nexpressing the sovereign will and power of him that spake: of him whose\nword is the law of heaven and earth, and stands fast for ever and ever.\n\n_One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass, \u2019till heaven and earth\npass_; or as it is exprest immediately after, \u1f15\u03c9\u03c2 \u1f04\u03bd \u03c0\u03ac\u03bd\u03c4\u1fb3 \u03b3\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7\n_\u2019till all_, (or rather _all things_) _be fulfilled_, \u2019till the\nconsummation of all things. Here is therefore no room for that poor\nevasion (with which some have delighted themselves greatly.) That \u201cno\npart of the law was to pass away, \u2019till _all the law_ was fulfilled:\nbut it has been fulfilled by _Christ_; and therefore now must pass,\nfor the gospel to be established.\u201d Not so; the word _all_ does not mean\nall the law, but all things in the universe: as neither has the term\n_fulfilled_, any reference to the law, but to all things in heaven and\nearth.\n\n2. From all this we may learn, that there is no contrariety at all,\nbetween the law and the gospel; that there is no need for the law to\npass away, in order to the establishing the gospel. Indeed neither of\nthem supersedes the other, but they agree perfectly well together. Yea,\nthe very same words, considered in different respects, are parts both\nof the law and of the gospel: if they are considered as commandments,\nthey are parts of the law; if as promises, of the gospel. Thus, _Thou\nshalt love the_ Lord _thy_ God _with all thy heart_, when considered\nas a commandment, is a branch of the law: when regarded as a promise,\nis an essential part of the gospel: the gospel being no other than the\ncommands of the law, proposed by way of promises. Accordingly poverty\nof spirit, purity of heart, and whatever else is injoined in the holy\nlaw of God, are no other, when viewed in a gospel light, than so many\ngreat and precious promises.\n\n3. There is therefore the closest connexion that can be conceived,\nbetween the law and the gospel. On the one hand, the law continually\nmakes way for, and points us to the gospel: on the other, the gospel\ncontinually leads us to a more exact fulfilling of the law. The law,\nfor instance, requires us to love God, to love our neighbour, to be\nmeek, humble or holy: we feel that we are not sufficient for these\nthings: yea, that _with man this is impossible_. But we see a promise\nof God, to give us that love, and to make us humble, meek and holy.\nWe lay hold of this gospel, of these glad tidings: it is done unto us\naccording to our faith: And _the righteousness of the law is fulfilled\nin us_, through faith which is in _Christ Jesus_.\n\n*We may yet farther observe, that every command in holy writ, is\nonly a covered promise. For by that solemn declaration, _This is the\ncovenant I will make after those days, saith the_ Lord, _I will put my\nlaws in your minds, and write them in your hearts_, God hath engaged\nto give whatsoever he commands. Does he command us then to _pray\nwithout ceasing_? To _rejoice evermore_? To be _holy as he is holy_?\nIt is enough. He will work in us this very thing. It shall be unto us\naccording to his word.\n\n4. But if these things are so, we cannot be at a loss, what to think\nof those who in all ages of the church, have undertaken to change or\nsupersede some commands of God, as they professed, by the peculiar\ndirection of his Spirit. _Christ_ has here given us an infallible\nrule, whereby to judge of all such pretensions. Christianity, as it\nincludes the whole moral law of God, both by way of injunction and of\npromise, if we will hear him, is designed of God, to be the last of\nall his dispensations. There is no other to come after this. This is\nto endure \u2019till the consummation of all things. Of consequence all\nsuch new revelations, are of _Satan_ and not of God; and all pretences\nto another more perfect dispensation, fall to the ground of course.\n_Heaven and earth shall pass away: but_ this _word shall not pass away_.\n\n\nIII. 1. _Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least\ncommandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in\nthe kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same\nshall be called great in the kingdom of heaven._\n\n*Who, what are they, that make \u201cThe preaching of the law,\u201d a character\nof reproach? Do they not see on whom the reproach must fall? On whose\nhead it must light at last? Whosoever on this ground despiseth us,\ndespiseth him that sent us. For did ever any man preach the law like\nhim? Even when he _came, not to condemn but to save the world_: when\nhe came purposely to _bring life and immortality to light through the\ngospel_? Can any \u201cpreach the law\u201d more expresly, more rigorously, than\n_Christ does_ in these words? And who is he that shall amend them? Who\nis he that shall instruct the Son of God, how to preach? Who will teach\nhim a better way of delivering the message which he hath received of\nthe Father?\n\n2. _Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments_, or one of\nthe least of these commandments\u2015\u2015_These commandments_, we may observe,\nis a term used by our Lord as equivalent with _the law_: or the _law\nand the prophets_, which is the same thing, seeing the prophets added\nnothing to the law; but only declared, explained, or inforced it, as\nthey were moved by the Holy Ghost.\n\n_Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments_\u2015\u2015especially if\nit be done wilfully or presumptuously: _one_:\u2015\u2015for _he that keepeth the\nwhole law and_ thus _offends in one point, is guilty of all_: the wrath\nof God abideth on him, as surely as if he had broken every one. So that\nno allowance is made for one darling lust; no reserve for one idol:\nno excuse for refraining from all besides, and only giving way to one\nbosom sin. What God demands is, an entire obedience: we are to have an\neye to all his commandments: otherwise we lose all the labour we take\nin keeping some, and our poor souls for ever and ever.\n\n_One of these least_, or one of the least of these _commandments_.\u2015\u2015\nHere is another excuse cut off, whereby many, who cannot deceive God,\nmiserably deceive their own souls. \u201cThis sin, saith the sinner, is it\nnot a little one? Will not the Lord spare me in this thing? Surely he\nwill not be extreme to mark this, since I do not offend in the greater\nmatters of the law.\u201d Vain hope! Speaking after the manner of men, we\nmay term these great and those little commandments. But in reality,\nthey are not so. If we use propriety of speech, there is no such\nthing as a little sin: every sin being a transgression of the holy and\nperfect law, and an affront of the great Majesty of heaven.\n\n3. _And shall teach men so_\u2015\u2015In some sense it may be said, that\nwhosoever openly breaks any commandment, teaches others to do the same:\nfor example speaks, and many times louder than precept. In this sense\nit is apparent every open drunkard, is a teacher of drunkenness: every\nsabbath-breaker is constantly teaching his neighbour, to profane the\nday of the Lord. But this is not all: an habitual breaker of the law,\nis seldom content to stop here. He generally teaches other men to do so\ntoo, by word as well as example: especially when he hardens his neck,\nand hateth to be reproved. Such a sinner soon commences an advocate for\nsin: he defends what he is resolved not to forsake. He excuses the sin\nwhich he will not leave, and thus directly teaches every sin which he\ncommits.\n\n_He shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven_: that is, shall\nhave no part therein. He is a stranger to the kingdom of heaven which\nis on earth; he hath no portion in that inheritance; no share of that\nrighteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Nor by consequence\ncan he have any part, in the glory which shall be revealed.\n\n4. But if those who even thus _break and teach_ others to break,\n_one of the least of these commandments, shall be called least in the\nkingdom of heaven_, shall have no part in the kingdom of _Christ_ and\nof God; if even these shall be cast into _outer darkness, where is\nwailing and gnashing of teeth_: then where will they appear, whom our\nLord chiefly and primarily intends in these words? They who bearing the\ncharacter of teachers sent from God, do nevertheless themselves break\nhis commandments, yea and openly teach others so to do: being corrupt\nboth in life and doctrine.\n\n5. *These are of several sorts. Of the first sort are they, who live\nin some wilful, habitual sin. Now if an ordinary sinner teaches by his\nexample, how much more a sinful minister? Even if he does not attempt\nto defend, excuse or extenuate his sin. If he does, he is a murderer\nindeed, yea, the murderer-general of his congregation. He peoples\nthe regions of death. He is the choicest instrument of the prince\nof darkness. When he goes hence, _Hell from beneath is moved to meet\nhim at his coming_. Nor can he sink into the bottomless pit, without\ndragging a multitude after him.\n\n6. *Next to these are the good-natured, good sort of men: who live an\neasy, harmless life, neither troubling themselves with outward sin, nor\nwith inward holiness: men who are remarkable neither one way nor the\nother; neither for religion nor irreligion: who are very regular both\nin public and private; but don\u2019t pretend to be any stricter than their\nneighbours. A minister of this kind breaks, not one, or a few only of\nthe least commandments of God; but all the great and weighty branches\nof his law, which relate to the power of godliness: and all that\nrequire us to _pass the time of our sojourning in fear_, to _work\nout our salvation with fear and trembling_; to have our _loins always\ngirt and our lights burning_; to strive or _agonize to enter in at the\nstrait gate_. And he _teaches men so_, by the whole form of his life,\nand the general tenor of his preaching: which uniformly tends to sooth\nthose in their pleasing dream, who imagine themselves Christians and\nare not; to persuade all who attend upon his ministry, to sleep on and\ntake their rest. No marvel therefore if both he and they that follow\nhim, wake together in everlasting burnings.\n\n7. *But above all these, in the highest rank of the enemies of the\ngospel of _Christ_, are they who openly and explicitly _judge the law_\nitself, and _speak evil of the law_: who teach men to break (\u03bb\u1fe6\u03c3\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7 to\ndissolve, to loose, to untie the obligation of) not one only, whether\nof the least, or of the greatest, but all the commandments at a stroke:\nwho teach, without any cover, in so many words, \u201cWhat did our Lord\ndo with the law? He abolished it.\u201d \u201cThere is but one duty, which is\nthat of believing.\u201d \u201cAll commands are unfit for our times.\u201d \u201cFrom any\ndemand of the law no man is obliged now to go one step, to give away\none farthing, to eat or omit one morsel.\u201d This is indeed carrying\nmatters with a high hand. This is withstanding our Lord to the face,\nand telling him, that he understood not how to deliver the message on\nwhich he was sent. O Lord, lay not this sin to their charge! Father,\nforgive them; for they know not what they do!\n\n8. *The most surprizing of all the circumstances, that attend this\nstrong delusion, is that they who are given up to it really believe,\nthat they honour _Christ_, by overthrowing his law, and that they are\nmagnifying his office, while they are destroying his doctrine! Yea,\nthey honour him just as _Judas_ did, when he _said, Hail, Master, and\nkissed him_. And he may as justly say, to every one of them, _Betrayest\nthou the Son of man with a kiss_? It is no other than betraying him\nwith a kiss, to talk of his blood and take away his crown: to set light\nby any part of his law, under pretence of advancing his gospel. Nor\nindeed can any one escape this charge, who preaches faith in any such\nmanner, as either directly or indirectly tends, to set aside any branch\nof obedience: who preaches _Christ_ so as to disannul, or weaken in any\nwise the least of the commandments of God.\n\n9. It is impossible indeed to have too high an esteem for _the faith\nof_ God\u2019s _elect_. And we must all declare, _By grace ye are saved\nthrough faith:\u2015\u2015not of works, lest any man should boast_. We must cry\naloud to every penitent sinner, _Believe in the_ Lord Jesus Christ,\n_and thou shalt be saved_. But at the same time we must take care to\nlet all men know, we esteem no faith but that _which worketh by love_:\nand that we are not _saved by faith_, unless so far as we are delivered\nfrom the power as well as the guilt of sin. And when we say, _Believe\nand thou shalt be saved_; we do not mean, \u201cBelieve and thou shalt\nstep from sin to heaven; without any holiness coming between; faith\nsupplying the place of holiness:\u201d but, believe and thou shalt be holy:\nbelieve in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt have peace and power together.\nThou shalt have power from him in whom thou believest, to trample sin\nunder thy feet; power to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,\nand to serve him with all thy strength. Thou shalt have power, _by\npatient continuance in well-doing_, to _seek for glory and honour and\nimmortality_. Thou shalt both _do and teach_ all the commandments of\nGod, from the least even to the greatest. Thou shalt teach them by thy\nlife as well as thy words, and so _be called great in the kingdom of\nheaven_.\n\n\nIV. 1. Whatever other way we teach to the kingdom of heaven, to glory,\nhonour and immortality, be it called the way of faith, or by any other\nname, it is in truth, the way to destruction. It will not bring a man\npeace at the last. For thus saith the Lord, _Verily I say unto you,\nexcept your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes\nand Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven_.\n\n_The Scribes_, mentioned so often in the New Testament as some of the\nmost constant and vehement opposers of our Lord, were not secretaries,\nor men, employed in writing only, as that term might incline us to\nbelieve. Neither were they _lawyers_, in our common sense of the word\n(altho\u2019 the word \u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u03af is so \u2666rendered in our translation.) Their\nemployment had no affinity at all, to that of a lawyer among us. They\nwere conversant with the laws of God, and not with the laws of man.\nThese were their study: it was their proper and peculiar business,\nto read and expound the law and the prophets; particularly in the\nsynagogues. They were the ordinary, stated preachers among the _Jews_.\nSo that if the sense of the original word was attended to, we might\nrender it, the divines. For these were the men who made divinity their\nprofession; and they were generally (as their name literally imports)\nmen of letters; men of the greatest account for learning that were then\nin the Jewish nation.\n\n2. The Pharisees were a very antient sect, or body of men, among\nthe _Jews_: originally so called from the _Hebrew_ word \u200f\u05e4\u05e8\u05e9\u200e, which\nsignifies, to separate or divide. Not that they made any formal\nseparation from, or division in the national church. They were only\ndistinguished from others, by greater strictness of life, by more\nexactness of conversation. For they were zealous of the law in the\nminutest points; paying tithes of mint, anise and cummin. And hence\nthey were had in honour of all the people, and generally esteemed the\nholiest of men.\n\nMany of the Scribes were of the sect of the Pharisees. Thus St. _Paul_\nhimself, who was educated for a Scribe, first at the university of\n_Tarsus_, and after that in _Jerusalem_, at the feet of _Gamaliel_\n(one of the most learned Scribes or doctors of the law that were then\nin the nation) declares of himself before the council, [93]_I am a\nPharisee the son of a Pharisee_: and before king _Agrippa, [94]After\nthe straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee_. And the whole\nbody of the Scribes generally esteemed and acted in concert with\nthe Pharisees. Hence we find our Saviour so frequently coupling them\ntogether, as coming in many respects under the same consideration.\nIn this place they seem to be mentioned together, as the most eminent\nprofessors of religion: the former of whom were accounted the wisest,\nthe latter the holiest of men.\n\n3. What _the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees_ really was,\nit is not difficult to determine. Our Lord has preserved an authentic\naccount, which one of them gave of himself. And he is clear and full\nin describing his own righteousness; and cannot be supposed to have\nomitted any part of it. He _went up_ indeed _into the temple to pray_:\nbut was so intent upon his own virtues, that he forgot the design upon\nwhich he came. For \u2019tis remarkable, he does not properly pray at all.\nHe only tells God, how wise and good he was. God, _I thank thee, that\nI am not as other men are; extortioners, unjust, adulterers; or even\nas this Publican. I fast twice in the week; I give tithes of all that\nI possess._ His righteousness therefore consisted of three parts, first,\nsaith he, _I am not as other men are_. I am not an _extortioner_, not\n_unjust_, not an _adulterer_; not _even as this Publican_. Secondly,\n_I fast twice in the week_; and thirdly, _give tithes of all that I\npossess_.\n\n_I am not as other men are._ This is not a small point. It is not every\nman that can say this. It is as if he had said, I do not suffer myself\nto be carried away by that great torrent, custom. I live not by custom,\nbut by reason; not by the examples of men, but by the word of God. _I\nam not an extortioner, not unjust, not an adulterer_: however common\nthese sins are even among those who are called the people of God:\n(extortion, in particular, a kind of legal injustice: not punishable\nby any human law, the making gain of another\u2019s ignorance or necessity,\nhaving filled every corner of the land) _nor even as this Publican_;\nnot guilty of any open or presumptuous sin: not an outward sinner: but\na fair, honest man, of blameless life and conversation.\n\n4. _I fast twice in the week._ There is more implied in this, than\nwe may at first be sensible of. All the stricter Pharisees observed\nthe weekly fasts; namely, every _Monday_ and _Thursday_. On the former\nday, they fasted in memory of _Moses_ receiving on that day (as their\ntradition taught) the two tables of stone written by the finger of\nGod: on the latter, in memory of his casting them out of his hand,\nwhen he saw the people dancing round the golden calf. On these days,\nthey took no sustenance at all till three in the afternoon; the hour\nat which they began to offer up the evening sacrifice in the temple.\nTill that hour it was their custom to remain in the temple, in some\nof the corners, apartments or courts thereof; that they might be ready\nto assist at all the sacrifices, and to join in all the public prayers.\nThe time between, they were accustomed to employ, partly in private\naddresses to God, partly in searching the scriptures, in reading the\nlaw and the prophets, and in meditating thereon. Thus much is implied\nin, _I fast twice in the week_, the second branch of the righteousness\nof a Pharisee.\n\n5. _I give tithes of all that I possess._ This the Pharisees did with\nthe utmost exactness. They would not except the most inconsiderable\nthing, no, not mint, anise and cummin. They would not keep back the\nleast part of what they believed properly to belong to God; but gave a\nfull tenth of their whole substance yearly, and of all their increase,\nwhatsoever it was.\n\nYea, the stricter Pharisees (as has been often observed, by those who\nare versed in the ancient _Jewish_ writings) not content with giving\none tenth of their substance to God, in his priests and Levites, gave\nanother tenth to God in the poor, and that continually. They gave\nthe same proportion of all they had in alms, as they were accustomed\nto give in tithes. And this likewise they adjusted with the utmost\nexactness, that they might not keep back any part, but might fully\nrender unto God the things which were God\u2019s, as they accounted this\nto be. So that, upon the whole, they gave away, from year to year, an\nentire fifth of all that they possest.\n\n6. This was _the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees_: a\nrighteousness, which in many respects, went far beyond the conception\nwhich many have been accustomed to entertain concerning it. But perhaps,\nit will be said, it was all false and feigned; for they were all a\ncompany of hypocrites.\u2015\u2015Some of them doubtless were; men who had really\nno religion at all; no fear of God, or desire to please him: who had\nno concern for the honour that cometh of God, but only for the praise\nof men. And these are they whom our Lord so severely condemns, so\nsharply reproves on many occasions. But we must not suppose, because\nmany Pharisees were hypocrites, therefore all were so. Nor indeed\nis hypocrisy by any means essential to the character of a Pharisee.\nThis is not the distinguishing mark of their sect. It is rather this,\n(according to our Lord\u2019s account) _They trusted in themselves that\nthey were righteous, and despised others_. This is their genuine badge.\nBut the Pharisee of this kind cannot be a hypocrite. He must be, in\nthe common sense, sincere: otherwise he could not _trust in himself\nthat he is righteous_. The man who was here commending himself to\nGod, unquestionably thought himself righteous. Consequently, he was\nno hypocrite: he was not conscious to himself of any insincerity. He\nnow spoke to God just what he thought, namely, that he was abundantly\nbetter than other men.\n\nBut the example of St. _Paul_, were there no other, is sufficient,\nto put this out of all question. He could not only say, when he was a\nChristian, [95]_Herein do I exercise myself to have always a conscience\nvoid of offence, toward_ God _and toward men_: but even concerning the\ntime when he was a Pharisee; [96]_Men and brethren, I have lived in all\ngood conscience before_ God _until this day_. He was therefore sincere\nwhen he was a Pharisee, as well as when he was a Christian. He was no\nmore an hypocrite when he persecuted the church, than when he preached\nthe faith which once he persecuted. Let this then be added to _the\nrighteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees_, a sincere belief that they\nare righteous, and in all things _doing_ God _service_.\n\n7. And yet, _Except your righteousness_, saith our Lord, _shall exceed\nthe righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case\nenter into the kingdom of heaven_. A solemn and weighty declaration!\nAnd which it behoves all who are called by the name of _Christ_,\nseriously and deeply to consider. But before we enquire, how our\nrighteousness may exceed theirs, let us examine, whether at present we\ncome up to it?\n\n*First, a Pharisee was _not as other men are_. In externals he was\nsingularly good. Are we so? Do we dare to be singular at all? Do we\nnot rather swim with the stream? Do we not many times dispense with\nreligion and reason together, because we would not _look particular_?\nAre we not often more afraid of being out of the fashion, than being\nout of the way of salvation? Have we courage to stem the tide? To run\ncounter to the world? _To obey_ God _rather than man_? Otherwise the\nPharisee leaves us behind at the very first step. \u2019Tis well if we\novertake him any more.\n\nBut to come closer. Can we use his first plea with God, which is in\nsubstance, \u201cI do no harm. I live in no outward sin; I do nothing, for\nwhich my own heart condemns me.\u201d Do you not? Are you sure of that?\nDo you live in no practice, for which your own heart condemns you?\nIf you are not an adulterer, if you are not unchaste, either in word\nor deed, are you not unjust? The grand measure of justice, as well\nas of mercy, is, Do unto others as thou wouldest they should do unto\nthee. Do you walk by this rule? Do you never do unto any what you would\nnot they should do unto you? Nay, are you not grossly unjust? Are you\nnot an extortioner? Do you not make a gain of any one\u2019s ignorance or\nnecessity? Neither in buying nor selling? Suppose you were engaged in\ntrade, do you demand, do you receive no more than the real value of\nwhat you sell? Do you demand, do you receive no more of the ignorant\nthan of the knowing; of a little child, than of an experienced trader?\nIf you do, why does not your heart condemn you? You are a barefaced\nextortioner. Do you demand no more than the usual price of goods, of\nany who is in pressing want? Who must have, and that without delay,\nthe things which you can only furnish him with? If you do, this also\nis flat extortion. Indeed you do not come up to the righteousness of\na Pharisee.\n\n8. A Pharisee, secondly, (to express his sense in our common way) used\nall the means of grace. As he fasted _often and much, twice in_ every\n_week_, so he attended all the sacrifices. He was constant in public\nand private prayer, and in reading and hearing the scriptures. Do you\ngo as far as this? Do you fast _much and often_? Twice in the week?\nI fear not. Once, at least; \u201con all _Fridays_ in the year?\u201d (So our\nchurch clearly and peremptorily enjoins all her members to do: to\nobserve all these, as well as the vigils and the forty days of lent,\nas \u201cdays of fasting or abstinence.\u201d) Do you fast twice in the year?\nI am afraid, some among us cannot plead even this!\u2015\u2015Do you neglect\nno opportunity of attending and partaking of the Christian Sacrifice?\nHow many are they, who call themselves Christians, and yet are utterly\nregardless of it? Yet do not eat of that bread, or drink of that cup,\nfor months, perhaps years, together? Do you every day, either hear the\nscriptures, or read them and meditate thereon? Do you join in prayer\nwith the great congregation? Daily, if you have opportunity: if not\nwhenever you can, particularly on that day, which you _remember, to\nkeep it holy_? Do you strive to _make_ opportunities? Are you _glad\nwhen they say unto you, we will go into the house of the_ Lord? Are\nyou zealous of, and diligent in private prayer? Do you suffer no day\nto pass without it? Rather, are not some of you so far, from spending\ntherein (with the Pharisee) several hours in one day, that you think\none hour full enough, if not too much? Do you spend an hour in a day,\nor in a week, in praying to your Father which is in secret? Yea, an\nhour in a month? Have you spent one hour together in private prayer\never since you was born? Ah poor Christian! Shall not the Pharisee rise\nup in the judgment against thee and condemn thee? His righteousness is\nas far above thine, as the heaven is above the earth.\n\n9. The Pharisee, thirdly, _paid tithes_ and gave alms _of all that he\npossest_. And in how ample a manner? So that he was (as we phrase it)\n\u201ca man that did much good.\u201d Do we come up to him here? Which of us\nis so abundant as he was, in good works? Which of us gives a fifth of\nall his substance to God? Both of the principal, and of the increase?\nWho of us, out of (suppose) an hundred pounds a year, gives twenty to\nGod and the poor: out of fifty, ten; and so in a larger or a smaller\nproportion? When shall our righteousness, in using all the means\nof grace, in attending all the ordinances of God, in avoiding evil\nand doing good, equal at least the righteousness of the Scribes and\nPharisees?\n\n10. Although if it only equalled theirs, what would that profit?\n_For verily I say unto you except your righteousness shall exceed the\nrighteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter\ninto the kingdom of heaven._ But how can it exceed theirs? Wherein does\nthe righteousness of a Christian exceed that of a Scribe or Pharisee?\n\nChristian righteousness exceeds theirs, first, in the extent of it.\nMost of the Pharisees, though they were rigorously exact in many\nthings, yet were emboldened by the traditions of the elders to dispense\nwith others of equal importance. Thus they were extremely punctual\nin keeping the fourth commandment; they would not even _rub an ear\nof corn_ on the sabbath day: But not at all in keeping the third,\nmaking little account of light, or even false swearing. So that\ntheir righteousness was partial: whereas the righteousness of a real\nChristian is universal. He does not observe one, or some parts of the\nlaw of God, and neglect the rest; but keeps all his commandments, loves\nthem all, values them above gold or precious stones.\n\n11. It may be indeed, that some of the Scribes and Pharisees,\nendeavoured to keep all the commandments, and consequently were,\nas touching the righteousness of the law, that is, according to the\nletter of it, blameless. But still the righteousness of a Christian\nexceeds all this righteousness of a Scribe or Pharisee, by fulfilling\nthe Spirit as well as the letter of the law, by inward as well as\noutward obedience. In this, in the spirituality of it, it admits of\nno comparison. This is the point which our Lord has so largely proved,\nin the whole tenor of this discourse. Their righteousness was external\nonly: Christian righteousness is in the inner man. The Pharisee\n_cleansed the outside of the cup and the platter_; the Christian is\nclean within. The Pharisee laboured to present God with a good life;\nthe Christian with a holy heart. The one shook off the leaves, perhaps\nthe fruits of sin; the other _lays the axe to the root_: as not being\ncontent with the outward form of godliness, how exact soever it be,\nunless the life, the Spirit, the power of God unto salvation, be felt\nin the inmost soul.\n\nThus, to do no harm, to do good, to attend the ordinances of God, (the\nrighteousness of a Pharisee) are all external: whereas, on the contrary,\npoverty of spirit, mourning, meekness, hunger and thirst after\nrighteousness, the love of our neighbour, and purity of heart, (the\nrighteousness of a Christian) are all internal. And even peace-making\n(or doing good) and suffering for righteousness sake, stand intitled\nto the blessings annext to them, only as they imply these inward\ndispositions, as they spring from, exercise and confirm them. So that\nwhereas the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees was external\nonly, it may be said, in some sense that the righteousness of a\nChristian is internal only: all his actions and sufferings being as\nnothing in themselves, being estimated before God only by the tempers\nfrom which they spring.\n\n12. *Whosoever therefore thou art, who bearest the holy and venerable\nname of a Christian, see, first that thy righteousness fall not short\nof the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees. Be _not_ thou _as\nother men are_. Dare to stand alone, to be\n\n \u201cAgainst example, singularly good?\u201d\n\nIf thou _follow a multitude_ at all, it must be, _to do evil_. Let not\ncustom or fashion be thy guide; but reason and religion. The practice\nof others is nothing to thee: _every man_ must _give an account of\nhimself to_ God. Indeed if thou canst save the soul of another, do: but\nat least, save one, thy own. Walk not in the path of death, because it\nis broad, and many walk therein. Nay, by this very token thou mayest\nknow it. Is the way wherein thou now walkest, a broad, well-frequented,\nfashionable way? Then it infallibly leads to destruction. O be not thou\n\u201cdamned for company:\u201d cease from evil; fly from sin as from the face\nof a serpent. At least, do no harm. _He that committeth sin is of the\ndevil._ Be not thou found in that number. Touching outward sins, surely\nthe grace of God is even now sufficient for thee. _Herein_ at least,\n_exercise_ thyself _to have a conscience void of offence, toward_ God\n_and toward man_.\n\nSecondly, Let not thy righteousness fall short of theirs, with regard\nto the ordinances of God. If thy labour or bodily strength will not\nallow of thy fasting _twice in the week_, however deal faithfully with\nthy own soul, and fast as often as thy strength will permit. Omit no\npublic, no private opportunity, of pouring out thy soul in prayer.\nNeglect no occasion of eating that bread and drinking that cup, which\nis the communion of the body and blood of _Christ_. Be diligent in\nsearching the scriptures; read as thou mayest, and meditate therein\nday and night. Rejoice to embrace every opportunity, of hearing _the\nword of reconciliation_ declared by _the ambassadors of_ Christ, _the\nstewards of the mysteries of_ God. In using all the means of grace, in\na constant and careful attendance on every ordinance of God, live up to\n(at least, till thou canst go beyond) _the righteousness of the Scribes\nand Pharisees_.\n\nThirdly, Fall not short of a Pharisee in doing good. Give alms of all\nthou dost possess. Is any hungry? Feed him. Is he a-thirst? Give him\ndrink. Naked? Cover him with a garment. If thou hast this world\u2019s goods,\ndo not limit thy beneficence to a scanty proportion. Be merciful to\nthe uttermost of thy power. Why not, even as this Pharisee? Now _make\nthyself friends_, while the time is, _of the mammon of unrighteousness,\nthat when_ thou _failest_, when this earthly tabernacle is dissolved,\nthey _may receive thee into everlasting habitations_.\n\n13. But rest not here. Let thy _righteousness exceed the righteousness\nof the Scribes and Pharisees_. Be not thou content, to _keep the whole\nlaw, and offend in one point. Hold thou fast all his commandments, and\nall false ways_ do thou _utterly abhor_. Do all the things, whatsoever\nhe hath commanded, and that with all thy might. Thou canst do all\nthings through _Christ_ strengthning thee, though without him thou\ncanst do nothing.\n\n*Above all, let thy righteousness exceed theirs in the purity and\nspirituality of it. What is the exactest form of religion to thee? The\nmost perfect outside righteousness? Go thou higher and deeper than all\nthis. Let thy religion be the religion of the heart. Be thou poor in\nspirit; little and base and mean and vile in thy own eyes; amazed and\nhumbled to the dust at the love of God which is in _Christ Jesus_ thy\nLord. Be serious: let the whole stream of thy thoughts, words and works,\nbe such as flows from the deepest conviction, that thou standest on the\nedge of the great gulph, thou and all the children of men, just ready\nto drop in, either into everlasting glory, or everlasting burnings.\nBe meek: let thy soul be filled with mildness, gentleness, patience,\nlong-suffering toward all men: at the same time that all which is in\nthee is a-thirst for God, the living God; longing to awake up after his\nlikeness, and to be satisfied with it. Be thou a lover of God and of\nall mankind. In this spirit, do and suffer all things. Thus _exceed the\nrighteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees_, and thou shalt be _called\ngreat in the kingdom of heaven_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXVI.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE VI.\n MATT. vi. 1\u201215.\n\n\n _Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of\n them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in\n heaven.\n\n Therefore when thou dost thine alms, do not sound a trumpet\n before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the\n streets, that they may have praise of men. Verily I say unto\n you, they have their reward.\n\n But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy\n right hand doth: that thine alms may be in secret, and thy\n Father which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly.\n\n And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are;\n for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the\n corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily\n I say unto you, they have their reward.\n\n But thou when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou\n hast shut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and\n thy Father which seeth in secret, he shall reward thee openly.\n\n But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the Heathen do;\n for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.\n\n Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what\n things ye have need of, before you ask him.\n\n After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in\n heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be\n done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily\n bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that\n trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but\n deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power\n and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.\n\n For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will\n also forgive you.\n\n But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your\n Father forgive your trespasses._\n\n1. IN the preceding chapter our Lord has described inward religion,\nin its various branches. He has laid before us those dispositions of\nsoul, which constitute real Christianity: the inward tempers contained\nin that holiness, _without_ which _no man shall see the_ Lord; the\naffections which, when flowing from their proper fountain, from\na living faith in God thro\u2019 _Christ Jesus_, are intrinsically and\nessentially good, and acceptable to God. He proceeds to shew in this\nchapter, how all our actions likewise, even those that are indifferent\nin their own nature, may be made holy and good and acceptable to God,\nby a pure and holy intention. Whatever is done without this, he largely\ndeclares, is of no value before God. Whereas, whatever outward works\nare thus consecrated to God, they are in his sight of great price.\n\n2. The necessity of this purity of intention, he shews first, with\nregard to those, which are usually accounted religious actions, and\nindeed are such, when performed with a right intention. Some of these\nare commonly termed works of piety; the rest, works of charity or mercy.\nOf the latter sort, he particularly names almsgiving; of the former,\nprayer and fasting. But the directions given for these are equally to\nbe applied to every work, whether of charity or mercy.\n\n\nI. 1. And first, with regard to works of mercy. _Take heed_, saith he,\n_that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them. Otherwise ye\nhave no reward of your Father which is in heaven. That ye do not your\nalms._ Altho\u2019 this only is named, yet is every work of charity included,\nevery thing which we give, or speak, or do, whereby our neighbour may\nbe profited, whereby another man may receive any advantage, either\nin his body or soul. The feeding the hungry, the cloathing the naked,\nand entertaining or assisting the stranger, the visiting those that\nare sick or in prison, the comforting the afflicted; the instructing\nthe ignorant, the reproving the wicked, the exhorting and encouraging\nthe well-doer; and if there be any other work of mercy, it is equally\nincluded in this direction.\n\n2. _Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them._\nThe thing which is here forbidden, is not, barely the doing good in\nthe sight of men: this circumstance alone, that others see what we do,\nmakes the action neither worse nor better: but the doing it before men,\n_to be seen of them_; with this view, from this intention only. I say,\nfrom _this intention only_; for this may, in some cases, be a part of\nour intention; we may design that some of our actions should be seen,\nand yet they may be acceptable to God. We may intend, that our _light\nshould shine before men_, when our conscience bears us witness, in the\nHoly Ghost, that our ultimate end in designing they should _see our\ngood works_, is, _That they may glorify our Father which is in heaven_.\nBut take heed that ye do not the least thing with a view to your own\nglory. Take heed that a regard to the praise of men, have no place at\nall in your works of mercy. If ye seek your own glory, if you have any\ndesign to gain the honour that cometh of men, whatever is done with\nthis view is nothing worth: it is not done unto the Lord: he accepteth\nit not; _ye have no reward_ for this _of your Father which is in\nheaven_.\n\n3. _Therefore when thou dost thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before\nthee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and in the streets,\nthat they may have praise of men._ The word _synagogue_ does not here\nmean, a place of worship, but any place of public resort, such as the\nmarket-place or exchange. It was a common thing among the _Jews_, who\nwere men of large fortunes, particularly among the Pharisees, to cause\na trumpet to be sounded before them in the most public parts of the\ncity, when they were about to give any considerable alms. The pretended\nreason for this was, to call the poor together to receive it: but the\nreal design, that they might have praise of men. But be not thou like\nunto them. Do not thou cause a trumpet to be sounded before thee. Use\nno ostentation in doing good. Aim at the honour which cometh of God\nonly. _They_ who seek the praise of men, _have their reward_. They\nshall have no praise of God.\n\n4. _But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right\nhand doth._ This is a proverbial expression, the meaning of which is,\ndo it in as secret a manner as is possible: as secret as is consistent\nwith the doing it at all; (for it must not be left undone: omit no\nopportunity of doing good, whether secretly or openly) and with the\ndoing it in the most effectual manner. For here is also an exception\nto be made. When you are fully persuaded in your own mind, that by\nyour not concealing the good which is done, either you will yourself\nbe enabled, or others excited to do the more good, then you may not\nconceal it: then let your light appear, and _shine to all that are in\nthe house_. But unless where the glory of God and the good of mankind\noblige you to the contrary, act in as private and unobserved a manner,\nas the nature of the thing will admit: _that thy alms may be in secret,\nand thy Father which seeth in secret, he shall reward thee openly_.\nPerhaps in the present world; many instances of this stands recorded\nin all ages: but infallibly in the world to come, before the general\nassembly of men and angels.\n\n\nII. 1. From works of charity or mercy, our Lord proceeds to those which\nare termed works of piety. _And when thou prayest_, saith he, _thou\nshalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in\nthe synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be\nseen of men. Thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are._ Hypocrisy then,\nor insincerity, is the first thing we are to guard against in prayer.\nBeware not to speak what thou dost not mean. Prayer is, the lifting\nup of the heart to God: all words of prayer without this are mere\nhypocrisy. Whenever therefore thou attemptest to pray, see that it\nbe thy one design, to commune with God, to lift up thy heart to him,\nto pour out thy soul before him. Not _as the hypocrites_, who _love_,\nor are wont, _to pray standing in the synagogues_, the exchange or\nmarket-places, _and in the corners of the streets_, wherever the most\npeople are, _that they may be seen of men_: this was the sole design,\nthe motive and end, of the prayers which they there repeated. _Verily\nI say unto you, they have their reward._ They are to expect none from\nyour Father which is in heaven.\n\n2. But it is not only, the having an eye to the praise of men, which\ncuts us off from any reward in heaven; which leaves us no room to\nexpect the blessing of God, upon our works whether of piety or mercy.\nPurity of intention is equally destroyed by a view to any temporal\nreward whatever. If we repeat our prayers, if we attend the public\nworship of God, if we relieve the poor, with a view to gain or interest,\nit is not a whit more acceptable to God, than if it were done with a\nview to praise. Any temporal view, any motive whatever on this side\neternity, any design but that of promoting the glory of God, and the\nhappiness of men, for God\u2019s sake, makes every action, however fair it\nmay appear to men, an abomination unto the Lord.\n\n3. _But when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast\nshut the door, pray to thy Father which is in secret._ There is a\ntime, when thou art openly to glorify God, to pray and praise him in\nthe great congregation. But when thou desirest more largely and more\nparticularly to make thy requests known unto God, whether it be in\nthe evening or in the morning or at noon-day, _enter into thy closet\nand shut the door_. Use all the privacy thou canst. (Only leave it not\nundone, whether thou hast any closet, any privacy or no. Pray to God if\nit be possible, when none seeth but he: but if otherwise, pray to God.)\nThus _pray to thy Father which is in secret_; pour out all thy heart\nbefore him. _And thy Father which is in secret, he shall reward thee\nopenly._\n\n4. _But when ye pray_, even in secret, _use not vain repetitions,\nas the Heathen do_. \u03bc\u1f74 \u03b2\u03b1\u03c4\u03c4\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03ae\u03c3\u03b7\u03c4\u03b5. Do not use abundance of words\nwithout any meaning. Say not the same thing over and over again: think\nnot the fruit of your prayers depends on the length of them: like the\nHeathens; for _they think they shall be heard for their much speaking_.\n\nThe thing here reproved, is not simply the length, any more than\nthe shortness of our prayers: but, first, length without meaning;\nthe speaking much, and meaning little or nothing: the using (not all\nrepetitions; for our Lord himself prayed thrice, repeating the same\nwords; but) vain repetitions, as the Heathens did, reciting the names\nof their Gods over and over: as they do among Christians, (vulgarly so\ncalled) and not among the papists only, who say over and over the same\nstring of prayers, without ever feeling what they speak: secondly, the\nthinking to be heard for our much speaking, the fancying God measures\nprayers by their length, and is best pleased with those which contain\nthe most words, which sound the longest in his ears. These are such\ninstances of superstition and folly, as all who are named by the name\nof _Christ_, should leave to the Heathens, to them on whom the glorious\nlight of the gospel hath never shined.\n\n5. _Be not ye therefore like unto them._ Ye who have tasted of the\ngrace of God in _Christ Jesus_, are throughly convinced, _your Father\nknoweth what things ye have need of before ye ask him_. So that the\nend of your praying, is not to inform God, as tho\u2019 he knew not your\nwants already; but rather to inform yourselves, to fix the sense of\nthose wants more deeply in your hearts, and the sense of your continual\n\u2666dependence on him, who only is able to supply all your wants. It is\nnot so much to move God, who is always more ready to give than you\nto ask; as to move yourselves, that you may be willing and ready to\nreceive, the good things he has prepared for you.\n\n\nIII. 1. After having taught the true nature and ends of prayer, our\nLord subjoins an example of it: even that divine form of prayer, which\nseems in this place to be proposed by way of pattern chiefly, as the\nmodel and standard of all our prayers: _After this manner therefore\npray ye_. Whereas elsewhere he enjoins the use of these very words,\n[97]_He said unto them, when ye pray, say_\u2015\u2015\n\n2. *We may observe in general concerning this divine prayer. First,\nthat it contains all we can reasonably or innocently pray for. There\nis nothing which we have need to ask of God, nothing which we can\nask without offending him, which is not included either directly or\nindirectly in this comprehensive form: secondly, that it contains all\nwe can reasonably or innocently desire; whatever is for the glory of\nGod, whatever is needful or profitable not only for ourselves, but\nfor every creature in heaven and earth. And indeed our prayers are\nthe proper test of our desires; nothing being fit to have a place\nin our desires, which is not fit to have a place in our prayers:\nwhat we may not pray for, neither should we desire: thirdly, that it\ncontains all our duty to God and man: whatsoever things are pure and\nholy, whatsoever God requires of the children of men, whatsoever is\nacceptable in his sight, whatsoever it is whereby we may profit our\nneighbour, being exprest or implied therein.\n\n3. It consists of three parts, the preface, the petitions, and the\ndoxology or conclusion. The preface, _Our Father which art in Heaven_,\nlays a general foundation for prayer; comprizing what we must first\nknow of God, before we can pray, in confidence of being heard. It\nlikewise points out to us all those tempers, with which we are to\napproach to God, which are most essentially requisite, if we desire\neither our prayers or our lives should find acceptance with him.\n\n4. \u201cOur _Father_.\u201d If he is a father, then he is good, then he is\nloving to his children. And here is the first and great reason for\nprayer. God is willing to bless, let us ask for a blessing. \u201cOur\n_Father_,\u201d\u2015\u2015Our Creator: the author of our being; he who raised us\nfrom the dust of the earth, who breathed into us the breath of life,\nand we became living souls. But if he made us, let us ask and he will\nnot with-hold, any good thing from the work of his own hands. \u201cOur\n_Father_\u201d\u2015\u2015Our preserver; who day by day sustains the life he has\ngiven: of whose continuing love we now and every moment receive life\nand breath and all things. So much the more boldly let us come to him,\nand _we_ shall _find mercy and grace to help in time of need_. Above\nall, the Father of our Lord _Jesus Christ_, and of all that believe in\nhim: who justifies us _freely by his grace, through the redemption that\nis in_ Jesus: who hath _blotted out all our sins, and healed all our\ninfirmities_; who hath received us for _his own children, by adoption\nand grace_, and _because we are sons_, hath _sent forth the Spirit of\nhis Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father: who hath begotten us\nagain of incorruptible seed_, and _created us a-new in_ Christ Jesus.\nTherefore we know that he heareth us always: therefore we _pray_ to him\n_without ceasing_. We pray, because we love. And _we love him, because\nhe first loved us_.\n\n5. \u201c_Our_ Father\u201d\u2015\u2015Not _mine_ only who now cry unto him; but _our\u2019s_,\nin the most extensive sense. The God and _Father of the Spirits\nof all flesh_; the Father of angels and men: (so the very Heathens\nacknowledged him to be, \u03a0\u03b1\u03c4\u03ae\u03c1 \u1f00\u03bd\u03b4\u03c1\u1ff6\u03bd \u03c4\u03b5 \u03b8\u03b5\u1ff6\u03bd \u03c4\u03b5\u00b7) The Father of the\nuniverse, of all the families both in heaven and earth. Therefore with\nhim there is no respect of persons. He loveth all that he hath made.\nHe _is loving unto every man, and his mercy is over all his works_.\nAnd _the_ Lord\u2019s _delight is in them that fear him, and put their trust\nin his mercy_; in them that trust in him thro\u2019 the Son of his love,\nknowing they are _accepted in the Beloved_. But _if_ God _so loved us,\nwe ought also to love one another_. Yea, all mankind: seeing God _so\nloved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son_, even to die the\ndeath, that they _might not perish but have everlasting life_.\n\n6. _Which art in heaven_:\u2015\u2015high and lifted up; God over all, blessed\nfor ever. Who sitting on the circle of the heavens, beholdeth all\nthings both in heaven and earth. Whose eye pervades the whole sphere\nof created being; yea and of uncreated night: unto whom _are known\nall his works_, and all the works of every creature, not only _from\nthe beginning of the world_ (a poor, low, weak translation) but \u1f00\u03c0\u1fbd\n\u2666\u03b1\u1f30\u1ff6\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7 from all eternity, from everlasting to everlasting: who\nconstrains the host of heaven, as well as the children of men, to\ncry out with wonder and amazement, O the depth! _The depth of the\nriches both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of_ GOD! _Which art\nin heaven_\u2015\u2015the Lord and ruler of all, superintending and disposing\nall things: who art the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, the blessed\nand only Potentate: who art strong and girded about with power, doing\nwhatsoever pleaseth thee! The Almighty: for whensoever thou willest,\nto do is present with thee. _In heaven_,\u2015\u2015eminently there. Heaven is\nthy throne, the place where thine honour particularly dwelleth. But not\nthere alone; for thou fillest heaven and earth, the whole expanse of\nspace. Heaven and earth are full of thy glory. Glory be to thee, O Lord\nmost high!\n\nTherefore should we _serve the_ Lord _with fear, and rejoice unto\nhim with reverence_. Therefore should we think, speak and act, as\ncontinually under the eye, in the immediate presence of the Lord, the\nKing.\n\n7. *_Hallowed be thy name._ This is the first of the six petitions,\nwhereof the prayer itself is composed. The name of God is God\nhimself; the nature of God, so far as it can be discovered to man:\nit means therefore, together with his existence, all his attributes\nor perfections\u2015\u2015his eternity, particularly signified by his great and\nincommunicable name Jehovah, as the apostle _John_ translates it, \u03c4\u1f78 \u1f00,\n\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03c9, \u1f00\u03c1\u03c7\u1f74 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2. \u1f41 \u1f64\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f41 \u1f26\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f41 \u1f10\u03c1\u03c7\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7 _The alpha and\nomega, the beginning and the end, he which is, and which was, and which\nis to come_:\u2015\u2015His _fulness of being_, denoted by his other great name,\n_I am that I am_\u2015\u2015His omnipresence\u2015\u2015His omnipotence; who is indeed the\nonly agent in the material world; all matter being essentially dull and\ninactive, and moving only as it is moved by the finger of God: and he\nis the spring of action in every creature, visible and invisible; which\ncould neither act nor exist, without the continued influx and agency\nof his almighty power\u2015\u2015His wisdom, clearly deduced from the things that\nare seen, from the goodly order of the universe\u2015\u2015His trinity in unity\nand unity in trinity, discovered to us in the very first line of his\nwritten word \u200f\u05d1\u05e8\u05d0 \u05d0\u05dc\u05d4\u05d9\u05dd\u200e: literally _the_ Gods _created_, a plural noun\njoined with a verb of the singular number: as well as in every part of\nhis subsequent revelations, given by the mouth of all his holy prophets\nand apostles\u2015\u2015His essential purity and holiness\u2015\u2015and above all, his\nlove, which is the very brightness of his glory.\n\nIn praying that God, or his _name_ may _be hallowed_ or glorified,\nwe pray that he may be known, such as he is, by all that are capable\nthereof, by all intelligent beings, and with affections suitable to\nthat knowledge: that he may be duly honoured and feared and loved by\nall in heaven above and in the earth beneath; by all angels and men,\nwhom for that end he has made capable of knowing and loving him to\neternity.\n\n8. _Thy kingdom come._ This has a close connexion with the preceding\npetition. In order that the name of God might be hallowed we pray that\nhis kingdom, the kingdom of _Christ_ may come. This kingdom then comes\nto a particular person, when he _repents and believes the gospel_:\nwhen he is taught of God, not only to know himself, but to know _Jesus\nChrist_ and him crucified. As _this is life eternal, to know the only\ntrue_ God, _and_ Jesus Christ _whom he hath sent_, so it is the kingdom\nof God begun below, set up in the believer\u2019s heart: the Lord God\nomnipotent then reigneth, when he is known through _Christ Jesus_. He\ntaketh unto himself his mighty power; that he may subdue all things\nunto himself. He goeth on in the soul conquering and to conquer,\n\u2019till he hath put all things under his feet, \u2019till _every thought_ is\n_brought into captivity to the obedience of_ Christ.\n\nWhen therefore God shall _give his Son the Heathen for his inheritance,\nand the utmost parts of the earth for his possession_; when _all\nkingdoms shall bow before him, and all nations shall do him service_;\nwhen _the mountain of the_ Lord\u2019s _house_, the church of _Christ shall\nbe established in the top of the mountains_; when _the fullness of the\nGentiles shall come in, and all Israel shall be saved_: then shall it\nbe seen, that _the_ Lord _is King and hath put on glorious apparel_,\nappearing to every soul of man, as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.\nAnd it is meet for all those who _love his appearing_, to pray that\nhe would hasten the time: that this his kingdom, the kingdom of grace\nmay come quickly, and swallow up all the kingdoms of the earth; that\nall mankind receiving him for their king, truly believing in his name,\nmay be filled with righteousness and peace and joy, with holiness and\nhappiness, \u2019till they are removed hence into his heavenly kingdom,\nthere to reign with him for ever and ever.\n\nFor this also we pray in those words, _Thy \u2666kingdom come_: we pray for\nthe coming of his everlasting kingdom, the kingdom of glory in heaven,\nwhich is the continuation and perfection of the kingdom of grace an\nearth. Consequently this, as well as the preceding petition, is offered\nup for the whole intelligent creation, who are all interested in this\ngrand event, the final renovation of all things, by God\u2019s putting an\nend to misery and sin, to infirmity and death, taking all things into\nhis own hands, and setting up the kingdom which endureth throughout all\nages.\n\nExactly answerable to this, are those awful words, in the prayer, at\nthe burial of the dead; \u201cBeseeching thee, that it may please thee of\nthy gracious goodness, shortly to accomplish the number of thine elect,\nand to hasten thy kingdom: that we with all those that are departed, in\nthe true faith of thy holy name, may have our perfect consummation and\nbliss, both in body and soul, in thy everlasting glory.\u201d\n\n9. _Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven._ This is the\nnecessary and immediate consequence, wherever the kingdom of God is\ncome: wherever God dwells in the soul by faith, and _Christ_ reigns in\nthe heart by love.\n\nIt is probable, many, perhaps the generality of men, at the first view\nof these words, are apt to imagine, they are only an expression of, or\npetition for resignation; for a readiness to suffer the will of God,\nwhatsoever it be concerning us. And this is unquestionably a divine and\nexcellent temper, a most precious gift of God. But this is not what we\npray for in this petition, at least not in the chief and primary sense\nof it. We pray, not so much for a passive, as for an active conformity\nto the will of God, in saying, _Thy will be done on earth as it is done\nin heaven_.\n\n*How is it done by the angels of God in heaven? Those who now\ncircle his throne rejoicing? They do it _willingly_; they love his\ncommandments, and gladly hearken to his words. It is their meat and\ndrink to do his will; it is their highest glory and joy. They do it\n_continually_; there is no interruption in their willing service.\nThey rest not day nor night, but employ every hour (speaking after\nthe manner of men; otherwise our measures of duration, days and nights\nand hours, have no place in eternity) in fulfilling his commands, in\nexecuting his designs, in performing the council of his will. And they\ndo it _perfectly_. No sin, no defect belongs to angelick minds. It is\ntrue, _the stars are not pure in his sight_, even the morning-stars\nthat sing together before him. _In his sight_, that is in comparison of\nhim, the very angels are not pure. But this does not imply, that they\nare not pure _in themselves_. Doubtless they are; they are without spot\nand blameless. They are altogether devoted to his will, and perfectly\nobedient in all things.\n\n*If we view this in another light, we may observe, the angels of God in\nheaven, do _all_ the will of God. And they do nothing else, nothing but\nwhat they are absolutely assured is his will. Again, they do all the\nwill of God, _as_ he willeth, in the manner which pleases him, and no\nother. Yea, and they do this, only _because_ it is his will; for this\nend and no other reason.\n\n10. When therefore we pray, that the _will of_ God may _be done on\nearth as it is in heaven_, the meaning is, that all the inhabitants\nof the earth, even the whole race of mankind, may do the will of their\nFather which is in heaven, as _willingly_ as the holy angels: that\nthese may do it _continually_ even as they, without any interruption of\ntheir willing service: yea, and that they may do it _perfectly_; that\n_the_ God _of peace, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, may\nmake them perfect in every good work to do his will, and work in them\nall which is well-pleasing in his sight_.\n\nIn other words, we pray, that we and all mankind, may do the whole will\nof God in all things: and nothing else, not the least thing but what is\nthe holy and acceptable will of God. We pray that we may do the whole\nwill of God _as_ he willeth, in the manner that pleases him: and lastly,\nthat we may do it, _because_ it is his will: that this may be the sole\nreason and ground, the whole and only motive of whatsoever we think, or\nwhatsoever we speak or do.\n\n11. _Give us this day our daily bread._ In the three former petitions,\nwe have been praying for all mankind. We come now more particularly to\ndesire a supply for our own wants. Not that we are directed even here,\nto confine our prayer altogether to ourselves: but this and each of the\nfollowing petitions may be used for the whole church of _Christ_ upon\nearth.\n\nBy _bread_ we may understand, all things needful whether for our souls\nor bodies: \u03c4\u1f70 \u03c0\u03c1\u1f78\u03c2 \u03b6\u03c9\u1f74\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03b5\u1f50\u03c3\u03ad\u03b2\u03b5\u03b9\u03b1\u03bd\u00b7 _the things pertaining to life\nand godliness_. We understand not barely the outward bread, what our\nLord terms _the meat which perisheth_; but much more the spiritual\nbread, the grace of God, the food _which endureth unto everlasting\nlife_. It was the judgment of many of the antient fathers, that we are\nhere to understand, the sacramental bread also: daily received in the\nbeginning by the whole church of _Christ_, and highly esteemed \u2019till\nthe love of many waxed cold, as the grand channel whereby the grace of\nhis Spirit was conveyed to the souls of all the children of God.\n\n_Our daily bread._ The word we render _daily_ has been differently\nexplained by different commentators. But the most plain and natural\nsense of it seems to be this, which is retained in almost all\ntranslations, as well antient as modern: what is sufficient for this\nday; and so for each day, as it succeeds.\n\n12. _Give us._ For we claim nothing of right, but only of free mercy.\nWe deserve not the air we breathe, the earth that bears, or the sun\nthat shines upon us. All our desert, we own, is hell. But God loves us\nfreely. Therefore we ask him to _give_, what we can no more _procure_\nfor ourselves, than we can _merit_ it at his hands.\n\nNot that either the goodness or the power of God is a reason for us\nto stand idle. It is his will, that we should use all diligence in all\nthings, that we should employ our utmost endeavours, as much as if our\nsuccess were the natural effect of our own wisdom and strength. And\nthen, as tho\u2019 we had done nothing, we are to depend on him, the giver\nof every good and perfect gift.\n\n*_This day._ For we are to take no thought for the morrow. For this\nvery end has our wise Creator divided life into these little portions\nof time, so clearly separated from each other: that we might look on\nevery day, as a fresh gift of God, another life, which we may devote to\nhis glory; and that every evening may be as the close of life, beyond\nwhich we are to see nothing but eternity.\n\n13. _And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass\nagainst us._ As nothing but sin can hinder the bounty of God from\nflowing forth upon every creature, so this petition naturally follows\nthe former; that all hindrances being removed, we may the more clearly\ntrust in the God of love, for every manner of thing which is good.\n\n_Our trespasses._ The word properly signifies _our debts_. Thus our\nsins are frequently represented in scripture: every sin laying us under\na fresh debt to God; to whom we already owe, as it were, ten thousand\ntalents. What then can we answer when he shall say, _Pay me that thou\nowest_? We are utterly insolvent: we have nothing to pay: We have\nwasted all our substance. Therefore if he deal with us according to\nthe rigour of his law, if he exact what he justly may, he must command\nus to be _bound hand and foot, and delivered over to the tormentors_.\n\nIndeed we are already bound hand and foot, by the chains of our own\nsins. These, considered with regard to ourselves, are chains of iron\nand fetters of brass. They are wounds wherewith the world, the flesh\nand the devil, have gashed and mangled us all over. They are diseases\nthat drink up our blood and spirits, that bring us down to the chambers\nof the grave. But considered, as they are here, with regard to God,\nthey are debts immense and numberless. Well therefore, seeing we have\nnothing to pay, may we cry unto him, that he would _frankly forgive_\nus all.\n\nThe word translated _forgive_, implies either to forgive a debt, or\nto unloose a chain. And if we attain the former, the latter follows of\ncourse; if our debts are forgiven, the chains fall off our hands. As\nsoon as ever, through the free grace of God in _Christ_, we _receive\nforgiveness of sins_, we receive likewise _a lot among those which\nare sanctified, by faith which is in_ him. Sin has lost its power: it\nhas no dominion over those, who _are under grace_, that is, in favour\nwith God. As _there is now no condemnation for them that are in_\nChrist Jesus, so they are freed from sin as well as from guilt. _The\nrighteousness of the law is fulfilled in them_, and they _walk not\nafter the flesh but after the Spirit_.\n\n14. _As we forgive them that trespass against us._ In these words our\nLord clearly declares, both on what condition, and in what degree or\nmanner we may look to be forgiven of God. All our trespasses and sins\nare forgiven us, _if_ we forgive and _as_ we forgive others. This is\na point of the utmost importance. And our blessed Lord is so jealous,\nlest at any time we should let it slip out of our thoughts, that he not\nonly inserts it in the body of his prayer, but presently after repeats\nit twice over. _If_, saith he, _ye forgive men their trespasses, your\nheavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their\ntrespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses._ Secondly,\nGod forgives us, _as_ we forgive others. *So that if any malice or\nbitterness, if any taint of unkindness or anger remains, if we do not\nclearly, fully, and from the heart, forgive all men their trespasses,\nwe so far cut short the forgiveness of our own. God cannot clearly and\nfully forgive us. He may shew us some degree of mercy. But we will not\nsuffer him to blot out all our sins, and forgive all our iniquities.\n\nIn the mean time, while we do not from our hearts, forgive our\nneighbour his trespasses, what manner of prayer are we offering to\nGod, whenever we utter these words? We are indeed setting God at open\ndefiance: we are daring him to do his worst. Forgive us our trespasses,\nas we forgive them that trespass against us! That is in plain terms,\n\u201cDo not thou forgive us at all: we desire no favour at thy hands. We\npray, that thou wilt keep our sins in remembrance, and that thy wrath\nmay abide upon us.\u201d But can you seriously offer such a prayer to God?\nAnd hath he not yet cast you quick into hell? O tempt him no longer!\nNow, even now, by his grace, forgive as you would be forgiven! Now have\ncompassion on thy fellow-servant, as God hath had and will have pity on\nthee.\n\n15. _And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Lead\nus not into temptation._ The word translated _temptation_, means trial\nof any kind. And so the English word temptation was formerly taken,\nin an indifferent sense: although now it is usually understood, of\nsolicitation to sin. St. _James_ uses the word in both these senses;\nfirst, in its general, then in its restrained acceptation. He takes\nit in the former sense when he saith, [98]_Blessed is the man that\nendureth temptation; for when he is tried_, or approved of God, _he\nshall receive the crown of life_. He immediately adds, taking the word\nin the latter sense, _Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted\nof_ God: _for_ God _cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he\nany man. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own\nlust_, or desire, \u1f10\u03be\u03b5\u03bb\u03ba\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2, drawn out of God, in whom alone he is\nsafe, _and enticed_, caught as a fish with a bait. Then it is, when\nhe is thus _drawn away and enticed_, that he properly _enters into\ntemptation_. The temptation covers him as a cloud: it overspreads his\nwhole soul. Then how hardly shall he escape out of the snare? Therefore\nwe beseech God, _not to lead us into temptation_, that is (seeing God\n_tempteth no man_) not to suffer us to be led into it. _But deliver\nus from evil_: rather, _from the evil one_; \u1f00\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03bf\u1fe6. \u1f49 \u03a0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2\nis unquestionably _the wicked one_, emphatically so called, the prince\nand god of this world, who works with mighty power in the children\nof disobedience. But all those who are the children of God by faith,\nare delivered out of his hands. He may fight against them: and so he\nwill. But he cannot conquer, unless they betray their own souls. He may\ntorment for a time; but he cannot destroy; for God is on their side,\nwho will not fail in the end, _to avenge his own elect, that cry unto\nhim, day and night_, \u201cLord, when we are tempted, suffer us not to enter\ninto temptation. Do thou make a way for us to escape, that the wicked\none touch us not.\u201d\n\n16. The conclusion of this divine prayer, commonly called the doxology,\nis a solemn thanksgiving, a compendious acknowledgement of the\nattributes and works of God. _For thine is the kingdom_; the sovereign\nright of all things that are, or ever were created: yea, thy kingdom is\nan everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all ages.\n_The power_: The executive power, whereby thou governest all things in\nthy everlasting kingdom, whereby thou dost whatsoever pleaseth thee, in\nall places of thy dominion.\u2015\u2015_And the glory_; the praise due from every\ncreature, for thy power and the mightiness of thy kingdom, and for all\nthy wondrous works, which thou workest from everlasting, and shalt do,\nworld without end, _for ever and ever! Amen._ So be it!\n\n\nI believe it will not be unacceptable to the serious reader, to subjoin\n\n A Paraphrase on the _Lord\u2019s Prayer_.\n\n FATHER of all, whose powerful voice,\n Call\u2019d forth this universal frame,\n Whose mercies over all rejoice,\n Thro\u2019 endless ages still the same.\n Thou by thy word upholdest all;\n Thy bounteous Love to all is shew\u2019d,\n Thou hearest thy every creature call,\n And fillest every mouth with good.\n\n In heaven thou reign\u2019st, enthron\u2019d in light,\n Nature\u2019s expanse beneath thee spread;\n Earth, air, and sea before thy sight,\n And hell\u2019s deep gloom are open laid.\n Wisdom, and might, and love are thine;\n Prostrate before thy face we fall,\n Confess thine attributes divine,\n And hail the sovereign Lord of all.\n\n Thee, sovereign Lord, let all confess,\n That moves in earth, or air, or sky,\n Revere thy power, thy goodness bless,\n Tremble before thy piercing eye.\n All ye who owe to him your birth,\n In praise your every hour employ:\n Jehovah reigns! Be glad, O earth,\n And shout ye morning-stars, for joy.\n\n Son of thy Sire\u2019s eternal love,\n Take to thyself thy mighty power;\n Let all earth\u2019s sons thy mercy prove,\n Let all thy bleeding grace adore.\n The triumphs of thy love display;\n In every heart reign thou alone;\n \u2019Till all thy foes confess thy sway,\n And glory ends what grace begun.\n\n Spirit of grace, and health, and power,\n Fountain of light and love below,\n Abroad thine healing influence shower,\n O\u2019er all the nations let it flow.\n Inflame our hearts with perfect love,\n In us the work of faith fulfil:\n So not heaven\u2019s host shall swifter move\n Than we on earth to do thy will.\n\n Father, \u2019tis thine each day to yield\n Thy children\u2019s wants a fresh supply;\n Thou cloth\u2019st the lillies of the field,\n And hearest the young ravens cry.\n On thee we cast our care; we live\n Thro\u2019 thee, who know\u2019st our every need;\n O feed us with thy grace, and give\n Our souls this day the living bread.\n\n Eternal, spotless Lamb of God,\n Before the world\u2019s foundation slain,\n Sprinkle us ever with thy blood,\n O cleanse and keep us ever clean.\n To every soul (all praise to thee)\n Our bowels of compassion move:\n And all mankind by this may see\n God is in us; for God is love.\n\n Giver and Lord of life, whose power\n And guardian care for all are free;\n To Thee in fierce temptation\u2019s hour,\n From sin and _Satan_ let us flee.\n Thine, Lord, we are, and ours thou art;\n In us be all thy goodness shew\u2019d;\n Renew, enlarge, and fill our heart\n With peace and joy and heaven and God.\n\n Blessing and honour, praise and love,\n Co-equal, Co-eternal, Three,\n In earth below, in heaven above,\n By all thy works be paid to thee.\n Thrice holy, thine the kingdom is,\n The power omnipotent is thine;\n And when created nature dies,\n Thy never-ceasing glories shine.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXVII.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE VII.\n MATT. vi. 16, 17, 18.\n\n\n _Moreover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad\n countenance, for they disfigure their faces, that they may\n appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, they have their\n reward.\n\n But thou when thou fastest, anoint thy head and wash thy face:\n\n That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which\n is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret, shall\n reward thee openly._\n\n1. IT has been the endeavour of _Satan_ from the beginning of the world,\nto put asunder what God had joined together; to separate inward from\noutward religion, to set one of these at variance with the other. And\nherein he has met with no small success, among those who were _ignorant\nof his devices_.\n\nMany in all ages, having a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge,\nhave been strictly attached to the _righteousness of the law_, the\nperformance of outward duties, but in the mean time wholly regardless\nof inward righteousness, _the righteousness which is of_ God _by faith_.\nAnd many have run into the opposite extreme, disregarding all outward\nduties, perhaps even _speaking evil of the law and judging the law_,\nso far as it enjoins the performance of them.\n\n2. It is by this very device of _Satan_, that faith and works have been\nso often set at variance with each other. And many who had a real zeal\nfor God, have for a time fallen into the snare on either hand. Some\nhave magnified faith to the utter exclusion of good works, not only\nfrom being the cause of our justification (for we know that a man is\n_justified freely by the redemption which is in_ Jesus) but from being\nthe necessary fruit of it; yea, from having any place in the religion\nof _Jesus Christ_. Others, eager to avoid this dangerous mistake, have\nrun as much too far the contrary way; and either maintained, That good\nworks were the cause, at least the previous condition of justification;\nor spoken of them as if they were all in all, the whole religion of\n_Jesus Christ_.\n\n3. In the same manner have the end and the means of religion, been\nset at variance with each other. Some well-meaning men, have seemed\nto place all religion, in attending the prayers of the church, in\nreceiving the Lord\u2019s Supper, in hearing sermons, and reading books\nof piety: neglecting mean time the end of all these, The love of God\nand their neighbour. And this very thing has confirmed others in the\nneglect, if not contempt of the ordinances of God; so wretchedly abused\nto undermine and overthrow the very end they were designed to establish.\n\n4. But of all the means of grace there is scarce any, concerning\nwhich men have run into greater extremes, than that of which our Lord\nspeaks in the above-mentioned words, I mean religious fasting. How have\nsome exalted this beyond all scripture and reason? And others utterly\ndisregarded it? As it were, revenging themselves, by undervaluing, as\nmuch as the former had overvalued it. Those have spoken of it, as if it\nwere all in all; if not the end itself, yet infallibly connected with\nit: These, as if it were just nothing, as if it were a fruitless labour,\nwhich had no relation at all thereto. Whereas it is certain the truth\nlies between them both. It is not all; nor yet is it nothing. It is not\nthe end, but it is a precious means thereto; a means which God himself\nhas ordained; and in which therefore, when it is duly used, he will\nsurely give us his blessing.\n\nIn order to set this in the clearest light, I shall endeavour to shew,\nfirst, what is the nature of fasting, and what the several sorts and\ndegrees thereof: secondly, what are the reasons, grounds and ends of\nit: thirdly, how we may answer the most plausible objections against\nit: and fourthly, in what manner it should be performed.\n\n\nI. 1. I shall endeavour to shew, first, what is the nature of fasting,\nand what the several sorts and degrees thereof. As to the nature of it,\nall the inspired writers, both in the Old Testament and the New, take\nthe word, to fast, in one single sense, for not to eat, to abstain from\nfood. This is so clear, that it would be labour lost to quote the words\nof _David_, _Nehemiah_, _Isaiah_, and the prophets which followed, or\nof our Lord and his apostles; all agreeing in this, that, to fast, is\nnot to eat for a time prescribed.\n\n2. To this, other circumstances were usually joined by them of old,\nwhich had no necessary connexion with it. Such were the neglect\nof their apparel, the laying aside those ornaments which they were\naccustomed to wear: the putting on mourning, the strewing ashes\nupon their head, or wearing sackcloth next their skin. But we find\nlittle mention made in the New Testament, of any of these indifferent\ncircumstances. Nor does it appear that any stress was laid upon them,\nby the Christians of the purer ages; however some penitents might\nvoluntarily use them, as outward signs of inward humiliation. Much\nless did the apostles or the Christians cotemporary with them, beat\nor tear their own flesh. Such _discipline_ as this was not unbecoming\nthe priests or worshippers of _Baal_. The gods of the Heathens were but\ndevils; and it was doubtless acceptable to their devil-god, when his\npriests [99]_cried aloud, and cut themselves after this manner, till\nthe blood gushed out upon them_: but it cannot be pleasing to him, nor\nbecome his followers, who _came not to destroy mens lives, but to save\nthem_.\n\n3. As to the degrees or measures of fasting, we have instances of some\nwho have fasted several days together. So _Moses_, _Elijah_ and our\nblessed Lord, being indued with supernatural strength for that purpose,\nare recorded to have fasted without intermission, _forty days and forty\nnights_. But the time of fasting more frequently mentioned in scripture,\nis, one day, from morning till evening. And this was the fast commonly\nobserved among the ancient Christians. But beside these, they had also\ntheir half-fasts (_Semi-jejunia_, as _Tertullian_ stiles them) on the\nfourth and six days of the week (Wednesday and Friday) throughout the\nyear: on which they took no sustenance till three in the afternoon, the\ntime when they returned from the public service.\n\n4. Nearly related to this, is what our church seems peculiarly to\nmean by the term _abstinence_: which may be used when we cannot fast\nentirely by reason of sickness or bodily weakness. This is, the eating\nlittle; the abstaining in part; the taking a smaller quantity of food\nthan usual. I do not remember any scriptural instance of this. But\nneither can I condemn it. For the scripture does not: it may have its\nuse, and receive a blessing from God.\n\n5. The lowest kind of fasting, if it can be called by that name, is\nthe abstaining from pleasant food. Of this we have several instances\nin scripture, besides that of _Daniel_ and his brethren: who from\na peculiar consideration, namely, that they might [100]_not defile\nthemselves with the portion of the king\u2019s meat_, nor _with the wine\nwhich he drank_, (_a daily provision_ of which _the king had appointed\nfor them_) _requested_ and obtained of _the prince of the Eunuchs,\npulse to eat and water to drink_. Perhaps from a mistaken imitation\nof this, might spring the very ancient custom, of abstaining from\nflesh and wine during such times as were set a-part for fasting and\nabstinence. If it did not rather arise from a supposition that these\nwere the most pleasant food, and a belief, that it was proper to use\nwhat was least pleasing, at those times of solemn approach to God.\n\n6. In the _Jewish_ church, there were some _stated_ fasts. Such was the\nfast of the seventh month, appointed by God himself, to be observed by\nall _Israel_, under the severest penalty. [101]_The_ Lord _spake unto\nMoses saying, on the tenth day of the seventh month, there shall be a\nday of atonement; and ye shall afflict your souls\u2015\u2015to make an atonement\nfor you before the_ Lord _your_ God. _For whatsoever soul it be that\nshall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among\nhis people._ In after ages several other _stated_ fasts were added to\nthese. So mention is made by the prophet _Zechariah_, of the fast, not\nonly [102]_of the seventh_, but also of _the fourth, of the fifth, and\nof the tenth month_.\n\nIn the ancient Christian church there were likewise stated fasts, and\nthose both annual and weekly. Of the former sort was that before Easter;\nobserved by some for eight and forty hours: by others, for an entire\nweek; by many for two weeks, taking no sustenance till the evening of\neach day. Of the latter, those of the fourth and sixth days of the week,\nobserved (as _Epiphanius_ writes, remarking it as an undeniable fact)\n\u1f10\u03bd \u1f45\u03bb\u1fc3 \u03c4\u1fc7 \u03bf\u1f30\u03ba\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u1fc3\u00b7 _in the whole habitable earth_, at least, in every\nplace where any Christians made their abode. The annual fasts in our\nchurch are, \u201cthe forty days of Lent, the ember days at the four seasons,\nthe rogation days, and the vigils or eves of several solemn festivals:\nThe weekly, all fridays in the year, except Christmas-day\u201d.\n\nBut beside those which were fixt, in every nation fearing God,\nthere have always been occasional fasts, appointed from time to time,\nas the particular circumstances and occasions of each required. So\n[103]when _the children of Moab and the children of Ammon, came against\nJehoshaphat to battle; Jehoshaphat, set himself to seek the_ Lord, _and\nproclaimed a fast throughout all Judah_. And so [104]_in the fifth year\nof Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, in the ninth month_, when they were\nafraid of the king of _Babylon_, the princes of Judah _proclaimed a\nfast before the_ Lord, _to all the people of Jerusalem_.\n\nAnd in like manner, particular persons, who take heed unto their ways,\nand desire to walk humbly and closely with God, will find frequent\noccasion for private seasons of thus afflicting their souls, before\ntheir Father which is in secret. And it is to this kind of fasting,\nthat the directions here given, do chiefly and primarily refer.\n\n\nII. 1. I proceed, to shew, in the second place, what are the grounds,\nthe reasons and ends of fasting.\n\nAnd, first, men who are under strong emotions of mind, who are affected\nwith any vehement passion, such as sorrow or fear, are often swallowed\nup therein, and even _forget to eat their bread_. At such seasons they\nhave little regard for food, not even what is needful to sustain nature;\nmuch less for any delicacy or variety, being taken up with quite\ndifferent thoughts. Thus when _Saul_ said, [105]_I am sore distrest;\nfor the Philistines make war against me, and_ God _is departed from me_;\nit is recorded, _he had eaten no bread, all the day nor all the night_.\nThus those who were in the ship with St. _Paul, when no small tempest\nlay upon them_, and all _hope that they should be saved was taken away,\n[106]continued fasting, having taken nothing_, no regular meal, for\nfourteen days together. And thus _David and all the men that were with\nhim_, when they heard that _the people were fled from the battle, and\nthat many of the people were fallen and dead, and_ Saul _and_ Jonathan\n_his son were dead also_; [107]_mourned and wept and fasted until even\nfor_ Saul _and_ Jonathan and _for the house of_ Israel.\n\nNay, many times they whose minds are deeply engaged, are impatient of\nany interruption, and even loath their needful food, as diverting their\nthoughts, from what they desire should engross their whole attention.\nEven as _Saul_, when on the occasion mentioned before, he had _fallen\nall along upon the earth and there was no strength in him_, yet _said,\nI will not eat_, till _his servants, together with the woman compelled\nhim_.\n\n2. Here then is the natural ground of fasting. One who is under deep\naffliction, overwhelmed with sorrow for sin, and a strong apprehension\nof the wrath of God, would without any rule, without knowing or\nconsidering, whether it were a command of God or not, _forget to eat\nhis bread_, abstain not only from pleasant, but even from needful food.\nLike St. _Paul_, who after he was _led into_ Damascus, _was three days\nwithout sight, and neither did eat nor drink_, Acts ix. 9.\n\nYea, when the storm rose high, when _an horrible dread overwhelmed_\none who had been without God in the world; his soul would _loath all\nmanner of meat_; it would be unpleasing and irksom to him. He would \u2666be\nimpatient of any thing that should interrupt his ceaseless cry, Lord\n_save! or I perish_.\n\nHow strongly is this exprest by our church, in the first part of the\nhomily on fasting?\n\n\u201cWhen men feel in themselves the heavy burthen of sin, see damnation\nto be the reward of it, and behold with the eye of their mind the\nhorror of hell; they tremble, they quake, and are inwardly touched with\nsorrowfulness of heart, and cannot but accuse themselves and open their\ngrief unto almighty God, and call unto him for mercy. This being done\nseriously, their mind is so occupied (taken up) partly with sorrow\nand heaviness, partly with an earnest desire to be delivered from this\ndanger of hell and damnation, that all desire of meat and drink is\nlaid apart, and loathsomeness (or loathing) of all worldly things and\npleasure cometh in place. So that nothing then liketh them more than to\nweep, to lament, to mourn, and both with words and behaviour of body to\nshew themselves weary of life.\u201d\n\n3. *Another reason or ground of fasting is this. Many of those who\nnow fear God, are deeply sensible how often they have sinned against\nhim, by the abuse of these lawful things. They know, how much they have\nsinned by excess of food; how long they have transgrest the holy law\nof God, with regard to temperance, if not sobriety too: how they have\nindulged their sensual appetites, perhaps to the impairing even their\nbodily health; certainly to the no small hurt of their soul. For hereby\nthey continually fed and increased that sprightly folly, that airiness\nof mind, that levity of temper, that gay inattention to things of the\ndeepest concern, that giddiness and carelessness of spirit, which were\nno other than drunkenness of soul, which stupified all their noblest\nfaculties, no less than excess of wine or strong drink. To remove\ntherefore the effect, they remove the cause: they keep at a distance\nfrom all excess. They abstain, as far as is possible, from what had\nwell nigh plunged them in everlasting perdition. They often wholly\nrefrain; always take care to be sparing and temperate in all things.\n\n4. *They likewise well remember, how fulness of bread, increased not\nonly carelessness and levity of spirit, but also foolish and unholy\ndesires, yea, unclean and vile affections. And this experience puts\nbeyond all doubt. Even a genteel, regular sensuality, is continually\nsensualizing the soul, and sinking it into a level with the beasts\nthat perish. It cannot be exprest what an effect variety and delicacy\nof food have on the mind as well as the body: making it just ripe for\nevery pleasure of sense, as soon as opportunity shall invite. Therefore\non this ground also every wise man will refrain his soul, and keep\nit low; will wean it more and more from all those indulgences of the\ninferior appetites, which naturally tend to chain it down to earth,\nand to pollute as well as debase it. Here is another perpetual reason\nfor fasting: to remove the food of lust and sensuality, to withdraw the\nincentives of foolish and hurtful desires, of vile and vain affections.\n\n5. Perhaps we need not altogether omit, (altho\u2019 I know not if we should\ndo well, to lay any great stress upon it) another reason for fasting,\nwhich some good men have largely insisted on: namely, the punishing\nthemselves for having abused the good gifts of God, by sometimes\nwholly refraining from them: thus exercising a kind of holy revenge\nupon themselves, for their past folly and ingratitude, in turning the\nthings which should have been for their health, into an occasion of\nfalling. They suppose _David_ to have had an eye to this when he said,\n_I wept and chastened_, or punished _my soul with fasting_: and St.\n_Paul_, when he mentions _what revenge_ godly sorrow occasioned in the\n_Corinthians_.\n\n6. A fifth, and more weighty reason for fasting, is, that it is an help\nto prayer: particularly, when we set apart larger portions of time for\nprivate prayer. Then especially it is, that God is often pleased to\nlift up the souls of his servants, above all the things of earth, and\nsometimes to wrap them up, as it were, into the third heavens. *And\nit is chiefly, as it is an help to prayer, that it has so frequently\nbeen found a means in the hand of God, of confirming and increasing\nnot one virtue, not chastity only, (as some have idly imagined, without\nany ground, either from scripture, reason or experience) but also\nseriousness of spirit, earnestness, sensibility and tenderness of\nconscience; deadness to the world, and consequently the love of God\nand every holy and heavenly affection.\n\n7. Not that there is any natural or necessary connexion, between\nfasting, and the blessings God conveys thereby. But he will have mercy\n_as_ he will have mercy: he will convey whatsoever seemeth him good,\nby whatsoever means he is pleased to appoint. And he hath in all ages\nappointed this, to be a means of averting his wrath, and obtaining\nwhatever blessings we from time to time stand in need of.\n\nHow powerful a means this is, to avert the wrath of God, we may learn\nfrom the remarkable instance of _Ahab_. _There was none like_ him, _who\ndid sell himself_; wholly give himself up, like a slave bought with\nmoney, _to work wickedness_. Yet when he _rent his cloaths and put\nsackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and went softly: the word of the_\nLord _came to_ Elijah, _saying, Seest thou how_ Ahab _humbleth himself\nbefore me? Because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the\nevil in his days._\n\nIt was for this end, to avert the wrath of God, that _Daniel_ sought\nGod, _with fasting and sackcloth and ashes_. This appears from the\nwhole tenor of his prayer, particularly from the solemn conclusion of\nit. _O_ Lord, _according to all thy righteousnesses_ (or mercies) _let\nthy anger be turned away from thy holy mountain\u2015\u2015Hear the prayer of\nthy servant, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is\ndesolate.\u2015\u2015O_ Lord, _hear! O_ Lord, _forgive: O_ Lord, _hearken and do,\nfor thine own sake_, Dan. ix. 3, 16, &c.\n\n8. But it is not only from the people of God that we learn, when his\nanger is moved, to seek him by fasting and prayer; but even from the\nHeathens. When _Jonah_ had declared, _Yet forty days and_ Nineveh\n_shall be destroyed, the people of_ Nineveh _proclaimed a fast, and put\non sackcloth from the greatest of them unto the least. For the king of_\nNineveh _arose from his throne, and laid his robe from him, and covered\nhim with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed\nand published through_ Nineveh, _Let neither man nor beast, herd nor\nflock, taste any thing. Let them not feed, nor drink water._ (Not that\nthe beast had sinned, or could repent: but that by their example man\nmight be admonished, considering that for his sin, the anger of God\nwas hanging over all creatures.) _Who can tell, if_ God _will turn and\nrepent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we perish not?_\u2015\u2015And\ntheir labour was not in vain. The fierce anger of God was turned\naway from them. God _saw their works_, (the fruits of that repentance\nand faith, which he had wrought in them by his prophet;) _and_ God\n_repented of the evil that he had said he would do unto them: and he\ndid it not_, Jon. 3, 4, &c.\n\n9. And it is a means not only of turning away the wrath of God, but\nalso of obtaining whatever blessings we stand in need of. So when\nthe other tribes were smitten before the _Benjamites, [108]all the\nchildren of Israel went up unto the house of the_ Lord, _and wept\nand fasted that day until even_; and then the Lord said, _Go up\nagain; for to-morrow I will deliver them into thine hand_. So _Samuel\n[109]gathered all Israel together, when they were in bondage to\nthe Philistines, and they fasted on that day before the_ Lord: and\nwhen _the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel, the_ Lord\n_thundered upon them with a great thunder, and discomfited them, and\nthey were smitten before Israel_. So _Ezra; [110]I proclaimed a fast\nat the river Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our_ God,\n_to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones\u2015\u2015and he was\nentreated of us_. So _Nehemiah; [111]I fasted and prayed before the_\nGod _of heaven, and said, Prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day,\nand grant him mercy in the sight of this man_. And God granted him\nmercy in the sight of the king.\n\n10. In like manner, the apostles always joined fasting with prayer,\nwhen they desired the blessing of God, on any important undertaking.\nThus we read, _Acts_ xiii. _There were in the church that was at_\nAntioch _certain prophets and teachers\u2015\u2015As they ministered to the_ Lord\n_and fasted_, (doubtless for direction in this very affair) _the Holy\nGhost said, Separate me_ Barnabas _and_ Saul, _for the work whereunto I\nhave called them. And when they had_ (a second time) _fasted and prayed,\nand laid their hands on them, they sent them away_, ver. 1, 2, 3.\n\nThus also _Paul_ and _Barnabas_ themselves, as we read in the following\nchapter, when they _returned again to_ Lystra, Iconium _and_ Antioch,\n_confirmed the souls of the disciples_; and _when they had ordained\nthem elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, commended\nthem to the_ Lord, ver. 23.\n\nYea, that blessings are to be obtained in the use of this means, which\nare no otherwise attainable, our Lord expresly declares in his answer\nto his disciples asking, [112]_Why could not we cast him out? Jesus\nsaid unto them, Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you,\nif ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this\nmountain, remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and\nnothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit, this kind_ (of devils)\n_goeth not out, but by prayer and fasting_: these being the appointed\nmeans of attaining that faith, whereby the very devils are subject unto\nyou.\n\n11. These were the _appointed_ means. For it was not merely by the\nlight of reason, or of natural conscience, (as it is called) that\nthe people of God have been in all ages directed, to use fasting as\na means to these ends. But they have been from time to time taught\nit of God himself, by clear and open revelations of his will. Such is\nthat remarkable one by the prophet _Joel_, [113]_Therefore thus saith\nthe_ Lord, _turn you unto me, with all your heart, and with fasting,\nand with weeping, and with mourning\u2015\u2015Who knoweth if the_ Lord _will\nreturn and repent, and leave a blessing behind him? Blow the trumpet\nin Zion, sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Then will the_ Lord\n_be jealous over his land, and will spare his people. Yea, I will send\nyou corn and wine and oil\u2015\u2015I will no more make you a reproach among the\nHeathen._\n\nNor are they only temporal blessings which God directs his people to\nexpect in the use of these means. For at the same time that he promised\nto those who should seek him with fasting, and weeping, and mourning,\n_I will render you the ears which the grashopper hath eaten, the\ncanker-worm, and the caterpiller and the palmer-worm, my great army_,\nhe subjoins, _So shall ye eat and be satisfied, and praise the name\nof the_ Lord _your_ GOD\u2015\u2015_Ye shall also know that I am in the midst\nof Israel, and that I am the_ Lord _your_ God. And then immediately\nfollows the great gospel-promise, _I will pour out my Spirit upon all\nflesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men\nshall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. And also upon\nthe servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my\nSpirit._\n\n12. Now whatsoever reasons there were to quicken those of old in the\nzealous and constant discharge of this duty, they are of equal force\nstill to quicken us. But above all these we have a peculiar reason for\nbeing _in fastings often_, namely, the command of him by whose name we\nare called. He does not indeed in this place _expresly_ enjoin, either\nfasting, giving of alms, or prayer. But his directions how to fast, to\ngive alms, and to pray, are of the same force with such injunctions.\nFor the commanding us, to do any thing _thus_, is an unquestionable\ncommand, to do that thing; seeing it is impossible to perform it _thus_,\nif it be not performed _at all_. Consequently, the saying, give alms,\npray, fast in _such a manner_, is a clear command to perform all those\nduties, as well as to perform them in that _manner_, which shall in no\nwise lose its reward.\n\nAnd this is a still farther motive and encouragement, to the\nperformance of this duty; even the promise which our Lord has\ngraciously annexed to the due discharge of it: _Thy Father, which\nseeth in secret, shall reward thee openly_. Such are the plain grounds,\nreasons and ends of fasting; such our encouragement to persevere\ntherein, notwithstanding abundance of objections which men, wiser than\ntheir Lord, have been continually raising against it.\n\n\nIII. 1. The most plausible of these I come now to consider. And, first,\nit has been frequently said, \u201cLet a Christian fast from sin, and not\nfrom food: this is what God requires at his hands.\u201d So he does: but he\nrequires the other also. Therefore this ought to be done, and that not\nleft undone.\n\nView your argument in its full dimensions; and you will easily judge of\nthe strength of it.\n\n\u201cIf a Christian ought to abstain from sin, then he ought not to abstain\nfrom food:\n\nBut a Christian ought to abstain from sin:\n\nTherefore he ought not to abstain from food.\u201d\n\nThat a Christian ought to abstain from sin, is most true. But how does\nit follow from hence, that he ought not to abstain from food? Yea, let\nhim do both the one and the other. Let him, by the grace of God, always\nabstain from sin; and let him often abstain from food: for such reasons\nand ends as experience and scripture plainly shew to be answered\nthereby.\n\n2. \u201cBut is it not better (as it has, secondly, been objected) to\nabstain from pride and vanity, from foolish and hurtful desires,\nfrom peevishness, and anger, and discontent, than from food?\u201d Without\nquestion it is. But here again we have need to remind you of our Lord\u2019s\nwords, _These things ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other\nundone_. And indeed the latter is only in order to the former; it is a\nmeans to that great end. We abstain from food with this view, that by\nthe grace of God, conveyed into our souls, through this outward means,\nin conjunction with all the other channels of his grace which he hath\nappointed, we may be enabled to abstain from every passion and temper,\nwhich is not pleasing in his sight. We refrain from the one, that\nbeing endued with power from on high, we may be able to refrain from\nthe other, so that your argument proves just the contrary to what you\ndesigned. It proves, that we ought to fast. For if we ought to abstain\nfrom evil tempers and desires, then we ought thus to abstain from food:\nsince these little instances of self-denial are the ways God hath chose,\nwherein to bestow that great salvation.\n\n3. \u201cBut we do not find it so in fact: (this is a third objection.)\nWe have fasted much and often. But what did it avail? We were not\na whit better: we found no blessing therein. Nay, we have found it\nan hindrance rather than an help. Instead of preventing anger, for\ninstance, or fretfulness, it has been a means of increasing them to\nsuch a height, that we could neither bear others nor ourselves.\u201d This\nmay very possibly be the case. \u2019Tis possible, either to fast or pray,\nin such a manner, as to make you much worse than before; more unhappy,\nand more unholy. Yet the fault does not lie in the means itself; but\nin the _manner_ of using it. Use it still, but use it in a different\nmanner. Do what God commands _as_ he commands it, and then doubtless\nhis promise shall not fail; his blessing shall be with-held no longer:\nbut _when thou fastest in secret, he that seeth in secret shall reward\nthee openly_.\n\n4. \u201cBut is it not mere superstition (so it has been, fourthly, objected)\nto imagine that God regards such little things as these?\u201d If you say\nit is, you condemn all the generation of God\u2019s children. But will you\nsay, these were all weak, superstitious men? Can you be so hardy as\nto affirm this, both of _Moses_ and _Joshua_, of _Samuel_ and _David_,\nof _\u2666Jehoshaphat_, _Ezra_, _Nehemiah_, and all the prophets? Yea, of\na greater than all, the Son of God himself? It is certain, both our\nMaster, and all these his servants, did imagine, that fasting is not\na little thing, and that he who is higher than the highest doth regard\nit. Of the same judgment, it is plain, were all his apostles, after\nthey were _filled with the Holy Ghost and with wisdom_. When they had\n_the unction of the Holy One, teaching_ them _of all things_, they\nstill _approved themselves the ministers of_ God, _by fastings_, as\nwell as _by the armour of righteousness on the right hand, and on the\nleft_. After _the Bridegroom was taken from them, then did they fast in\nthose days_. Nor would they attempt any thing, (as we have seen above)\nwherein the glory of God was nearly concerned, such as the sending\nforth labourers into the harvest, without solemn fasting as well as\nprayer.\n\n5. \u201cBut if fasting be indeed of so great importance, and attended with\nsuch a blessing, is it not best, say some, fifthly, to fast always?\nNot to do it now and then, but to keep a continual fast? To use as much\nabstinence at all times, as our bodily strength will bear?\u201d Let none\nbe discouraged from doing this. By all means use as little and plain\nfood, exercise as much self-denial herein at all times, as your bodily\nstrength will bear. And this may conduce, by the blessing of God, to\nseveral of the great ends above-mentioned. It may be a considerable\nhelp not only to chastity, but also to heavenly mindedness; to the\nweaning your affections from things below, and setting them on things\nabove. But this is not fasting, scriptural fasting: it is never termed\nso in all the bible. It in some measure answers some of the ends\nthereof; but still it is another thing. Practice it by all means; but\nnot so as thereby to set aside a command of God, and an instituted\nmeans of averting his judgments, and obtaining the blessings of his\nchildren.\n\n6. Use continually then as much abstinence as you please; which taken\nthus, is no other than Christian temperance. But this need not at all\ninterfere with your observing solemn times of fasting and prayer. For\ninstance; your habitual abstinence or temperance, would not prevent\nyour fasting in secret, if you was suddenly overwhelmed with huge\nsorrow and remorse, and with horrible fear and dismay. Such a situation\nof mind would almost constrain you to fast: you would loath your daily\nfood: You would scarce endure even to take such supplies, as were\nneedful for the body, \u2019till God lifted you up _out of the horrible pit,\nand set your feet upon a rock, and ordered your goings_. The same would\nbe the case if you was in agony of desire, vehemently wrestling with\nGod for his blessing. You would need none to instruct you, not to eat\nbread, \u2019till you had obtained the request of your lips.\n\n7. Again, had you been at _Nineveh_, when it was proclaimed throughout\nthe city, _Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock taste any thing:\nlet them not feed or drink water, but let them cry mightily unto_ God:\nwould your continual fast have been any reason for not bearing part in\nthat general humiliation? Doubtless it would not. You would have been\nas much concerned as any other, not to taste food on that day.\n\nNo more would abstinence, or the observing a continual fast, have\nexcused any of the children of _Israel_, from fasting the tenth day\nof the seventh month, the great annual day of atonement. There was no\nexception for these in that solemn decree, _Whatsoever soul it shall be,\nthat shall not be afflicted_ (shall not fast) _in that day, he shall be\ncut off from among his people_.\n\nLastly, had you been with the brethren in _Antioch_ at the time when\nthey fasted and prayed, before the sending forth of _Barnabas_ and\n_Saul_, can you possibly imagine that your temperance or abstinence\nwould have been a sufficient cause for not joining therein? Without\ndoubt, if you had not, you would soon have been cut off from the\nChristian community. You would have deservedly been cast out from among\nthem, \u201cas bringing confusion into the church of God.\u201d\n\n\nIV. 1. I am in the last place, to shew, In what manner we are to fast,\nthat it may be an acceptable service unto the Lord. And, first, let\nit be done _unto the_ Lord, with our eye singly fixed on him. Let\nour intention herein be this, and this alone, to glorify our Father\nwhich is in heaven: to express our sorrow and shame, for our manifold\ntransgressions of his holy law: to wait for an increase of purifying\ngrace, drawing our affections to things above: to add seriousness and\nearnestness to our prayers: to avert the wrath of God, and to obtain\nall the great and precious promises, which he hath made to us in\n_Christ Jesus_.\n\nLet us beware of mocking God, of turning our fast as well as our prayer\ninto an abomination unto the Lord, by the mixture of any temporal view,\nparticularly, by seeking the praise of men. Against this our blessed\nLord more peculiarly guards us, in the words of the text. _Moreover,\nwhen ye fast, be ye not as the hypocrites_ (such were too many who\nwere called the people of God) _of a sad countenance_; sour, affectedly\nsad, putting their looks into a peculiar form. _For they disfigure\ntheir faces_, not only by unnatural distortions, but also by covering\nthem with dust and ashes\u2015\u2015_That they may appear unto men to fast_.\nThis is their chief, if not only design. _Verily, I say unto you, they\nhave their reward_; even the admiration and praise of men. _But thou,\nwhen thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face._ Do as thou\nart accustomed to do at other times\u2015\u2015_That thou appear not unto men to\nfast_, (let this be no part of thy intention: if they know it without\nany desire of thine, it matters not, thou art neither the better nor\nthe worse) _but unto thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father\nwhich seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly_.\n\n2. But if we desire this reward, let us beware, secondly, of\nfancying we _merit_ any thing of God by our fasting. We cannot be\ntoo often warned of this; in as much as a desire to _establish our own\nrighteousness_, to procure salvation of _debt_, and not of _grace_, is\nso deeply rooted in all our hearts:\u2015\u2015Fasting is only a way which God\nhath ordained, wherein we wait for his _unmerited_ mercy; and wherein,\nwithout any desert of ours, he hath promised, _freely_ to give us his\nblessing.\n\n3. Not that we are to imagine, the performing the bare outward act,\nwill receive any blessing from God. _Is it such a fast that I have\nchosen, saith the_ Lord: _a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to\nbow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under\nhim?_ Are these outward acts, however strictly performed, all that is\nmeant by a man\u2019s _afflicting his soul? Wilt thou call this a fast, and\nan acceptable day to the_ Lord? No surely. If it be a mere external\nservice, it is all but lost labour. Such a performance may possibly\nafflict the body. But as to the soul it profiteth nothing.\n\n4. Yea, the body may sometimes be afflicted too much, so as to be unfit\nfor the works of our calling. This also we are diligently to guard\nagainst: for we ought to preserve our health, as a good gift of God.\nTherefore care is to be taken, whenever we fast, to proportion the\nfast to our strength. For we may not offer God murder for sacrifice,\nor destroy our bodies to help our souls.\n\nBut at these solemn seasons, we may even in great weakness of body,\navoid that other extreme, for which God condemns those who of old\nexpostulated with him for not accepting their fasts. _Wherefore have we\nfasted, say they, and thou seest not?\u2015\u2015Behold in the day of your fast,\nyou find pleasure_, saith the Lord\u2015\u2015If we cannot wholly abstain, we\nmay at least abstain from pleasant food; and then we shall not seek his\nface in vain.\n\n5. But let us take care to afflict our souls as well as our bodies.\nLet every season either of public or private fasting, be a season of\nexercising all those holy affections, which are implied in a broken and\ncontrite heart. Let it be a season of devout mourning, of godly sorrow\nfor sin: such a sorrow as that of the _Corinthians_, concerning which\nthe apostle saith, _I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that\nye sorrowed to repentance. For ye were made sorry after a godly manner,\nthat ye might receive damage by us in nothing. For godly sorrow_\n(\u1f21 \u03ba\u03b1\u03c4\u1f70 \u0398\u03b5\u1f78\u03bd \u03bb\u03cd\u03c0\u03b7\u00b7 the sorrow which is according to God, which is a\nprecious gift of his Spirit, lifting the soul to God from whom it flows)\n_worketh repentance to salvation, not to be repented of_. Yea, and\nlet our sorrowing after a godly sort, work in us the same inward and\noutward repentance; the same entire change of heart, renewed after the\nimage of God, in righteousness and true holiness; and the same change\nof life, till we are holy as he is holy in all manner of conversation.\nLet it work in us the same _carefulness_, to be found in him, without\nspot and blameless; the same _clearing of ourselves_, by our lives\nrather than words, by our abstaining from all appearance of evil; the\nsame _indignation_, vehement abhorrence of every sin; the same _fear_\nof our own deceitful hearts; the same _desire_ to be in all things\nconformed to the holy and acceptable will of God; the same _zeal_\nfor whatever may be a means of his glory, and of our growth in the\nknowledge of our Lord _Jesus Christ_: and the same _revenge_ against\n_Satan_ and all his works, against all filthiness both of flesh and\nspirit, _2 Cor. vii. 9_, &c.\n\n6. And with fasting let us always join fervent prayer, pouring out our\nwhole souls before God, confessing our sins with all their aggravations,\nhumbling ourselves under his mighty hand, laying open before him all\nour wants, all our guiltiness and helplessness. This is a season for\nenlarging our prayers, both in behalf of ourselves and of our brethren.\nLet us now bewail the sins of our people, and cry aloud for the city of\nour God: that the Lord may build up _Zion_, and cause his face to shine\non her desolations. Thus we may observe the men of God in ancient times\nalways joined prayer and fasting together. Thus the apostles in all the\ninstances cited above: and thus our Lord joins them in the discourse\nbefore us.\n\n7. It remains only, in order to our observing such a fast, as is\nacceptable to the Lord, that we add alms thereto; works of mercy, after\nour power, both to the bodies and souls of men. _With such sacrifices_\nalso God _is well-pleased_. Thus the angel declares to _Cornelius_,\nfasting and [114]praying in his house, _Thy prayers and thine alms are\ncome up for a memorial before_ God. And this God himself expresly and\nlargely declares, [115]_Is not this the fast that I have chosen, to\nundo the heavy burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break\nevery yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou\nbring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the\nnaked, that thou cover him, and that thou hide not thyself from thy\nown flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine\nhealth shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go\nbefore thee, the glory of the_ Lord _shall be thy rare-ward. Then shalt\nthou call, and the_ Lord _shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall\nsay, here I am.\u2015\u2015If_ (when thou fastest) _ thou draw out thy soul to\nthe hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise\nin obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day. And the_ Lord _shall\nguide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make thy\nbones fat: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring\nwhose waters fail not_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXVIII.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE VIII.\n MATT. vi. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.\n\n\n _Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and\n rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:\n\n But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth\n nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through\n nor steal:\n\n For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.\n\n The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be\n single, thy whole body shall be full of light.\n\n But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of\n darkness. If therefore the light that is within thee be\n darkness, how great is that darkness!_\n\n1. FROM those which are commonly termed _religious actions_, and which\nare real branches of true religion, where they spring from a pure\nand holy intention, and are performed in a manner suitable thereto,\nour Lord proceeds to the actions of _common life_, and shews that the\nsame purity of intention, is as indispensably required in our ordinary\nbusiness, as in giving alms, or fasting, or prayer.\n\nAnd without question the same purity of intention, \u201cwhich makes our\nalms and devotions acceptable, must also make our labour or employment,\na proper offering to God. If a man pursues his business, that he may\nraise himself to a state of figure and riches in the world, he is no\nlonger serving God in his employment, and has no more title to a reward\nfrom God, than he who gives alms that he may be _seen_, or prays that\nhe may be _heard_ of men. For vain and earthly designs are no more\nallowable in our employments, than in our alms and devotions. They are\nnot only evil when they mix with our good works,\u201d with our religious\nactions, \u201cbut they have the same evil nature when they enter into the\ncommon business of our employments. If it were allowable to pursue them\nin our worldly employments, it would be allowable to pursue them in our\ndevotions. But as our alms and devotions are not an acceptable service,\nbut when they proceed from a pure intention, so our common employment\ncannot be reckoned a service to him, but when it is performed with the\nsame piety of heart.\u201d\n\n2. This our blessed Lord declares in the liveliest manner, in those\nstrong and comprehensive words which he explains, inforces and inlarges\nupon, throughout this whole chapter. _The light of the body is the eye.\nIf therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light:\nbut if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness._\nThe eye is the intention: what the eye is to the body, the intention\nis to the soul. As the one guides all the motions of the body, so does\nthe other those of the soul. This eye of the soul is then said to be\n_single_, when it looks at one thing only; when we have no other design,\nbut to _know_ God, _and_ Jesus Christ _whom he hath sent_: to know him\nwith suitable affections, loving him as he hath loved us: to please\nGod in all things: to serve God (as we love him) with all our heart\nand mind and soul and strength: and to enjoy God in all and above all\nthings, in time and in eternity.\n\n3. _If thine eye be_ thus _single_, thus fixed on God, _thy whole body\nshall be full of light. Thy whole body_,\u2015\u2015All that is guided by the\nintention, as the body is by the eye. All thou art: all thou dost: thy\ndesires, tempers, affections; thy thoughts and words and actions. The\nwhole of these _shall be full of light_: full of true, divine knowledge.\nThis is the first thing we may here understand by light. _In his light\nthou shalt see light. He which_ of old _commanded light to shine out\nof darkness, shall shine in thy heart_. He shall enlighten the eyes of\nthy understanding, with the knowledge of the glory of God. His Spirit\nshall reveal unto thee the deep things of God. The inspiration of the\nHoly One shall give thee understanding, and cause thee to know wisdom\nsecretly. Yea, _the anointing_ which thou receivest of him, _shall\nabide in thee and teach thee of all things_.\n\nHow does experience confirm this? Even after God hath opened the eyes\nof our understanding, if we seek or desire any thing else than God,\nhow soon is our foolish heart darkened? Then clouds again rest upon our\nsouls. Doubts and fears again overwhelm us. We are tossed to and fro,\nand know not what to do, or which is the path wherein we should go. But\nwhen we desire and seek nothing but God, clouds and doubts vanish away.\nWe _who were sometime darkness, are now light in the_ Lord. The night\nnow shineth as the day; and we find, _the path of the upright is light_.\nGod sheweth us the path wherein we should go, and _maketh plain the way\nbefore our face_.\n\n4. The second thing which we may here understand by _light_, is\nholiness. While thou seeketh God in all things, thou shalt find him in\nall, the fountain of all holiness, continually filling thee with his\nown likeness, with justice, mercy and truth. While thou lookest unto\n_Jesus_ and him alone, thou shalt be filled with the mind that was in\nhim. Thy soul shall be renewed day by day, after the image of him that\ncreated it. If the eye of thy mind be not removed from him, if thou\nendurest _seeing him that is invisible_, and seeking nothing else in\nheaven or earth, then as thou beholdest the glory of the Lord, _thou\nshalt be transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the\nSpirit of the_ Lord.\n\nAnd it is also matter of daily experience, that _by grace we are_ thus\n_saved thro\u2019 faith_. It is by faith that the eye of the mind is opened,\nto see the light of the glorious love of God. And as long as it is\nsteadily fixed thereon, on God in _Christ_, reconciling the world unto\nhimself, we are more and more filled with the love of God and man, with\nmeekness, gentleness, long-suffering; with all the fruits of holiness,\nwhich are thro\u2019 _Christ Jesus_, to the glory of God the Father.\n\n5. This light which fills him who has a single eye, implies, thirdly,\nhappiness as well as holiness. Surely _light is sweet, and a pleasant\nthing it is to see the sun_. But how much more to see the Sun of\nRighteousness, continually shining upon the soul? And if there be any\nconsolation in _Christ_, if any comfort of love, if any peace that\npasseth all understanding, if any rejoicing in hope of the glory of\nGod, they all belong to him whose eye is single. Thus is his _whole\nbody full of light_. He walketh in the light as God is in the light,\nrejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, and in every thing giving\nthanks, _enjoying_ whatever is the will of God concerning him in\n_Christ Jesus_.\n\n6. _But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.\nIf thine eye be evil_: We see there is no medium between a single\nand an evil eye. If the eye be not single, then it is evil. If the\nintention, in whatever we do, be not singly to God, if we seek any\nthing else, then our _mind and conscience are defiled_.\n\nOur eye therefore is evil, if in any thing we do, we aim at any other\nend than God; if we have any view, but to know and to love God, to\nplease and serve him in all things: if we have any other design than\nto enjoy God, to be happy in him both now and for ever.\n\n7. If thine eye be not singly fixt on God, _thy whole body shall be\nfull of darkness_. The veil shall still remain on thy heart. Thy mind\nshall be more and more blinded, by _the God of this world, lest the\nlight of the glorious gospel of_ Christ _should shine upon thee_. Thou\nwilt be full of ignorance and error touching the things of God, not\nbeing able to receive or discern them. And even when thou hast some\ndesire to serve God, thou wilt be full of uncertainty as to the manner\nof serving him; finding doubts and difficulties on every side, and not\nseeing any way to escape.\n\nYea, if thine eye be not single, if thou seek any of the things of\nearth, thou shalt be full of ungodliness and unrighteousness: thy\ndesires, tempers, affections, being all out of course, being all dark,\nand vile, and vain. And thy conversation will be evil, as well as thy\nheart, not _seasoned with salt_, or _meet to minister grace unto the\nhearers_, but idle, unprofitable, corrupt, grievous to the Holy Spirit\nof God.\n\n8. *Both _destruction and unhappiness are in thy ways_; for _the\nway of peace hast_ thou _not known_. There is no peace, no settled,\nsolid peace, for them that know not God. There is no true, nor lasting\ncontent for any, who do not seek him with their whole heart. While thou\naimest at any of the things that perish, _all that cometh is vanity_.\nYea, not only vanity, but _vexation of spirit_, and that both in the\npursuit and the enjoyment also. Thou walkest indeed in a vain shadow,\nand disquietest thyself in vain. Thou walkest in darkness that may be\nfelt. _Sleep on_; but thou canst not _take thy rest_. The dreams of\nlife can give pain, and that thou knowest: but ease they cannot give.\nThere is no rest, in this world or the world to come, but only in God\nthe center of spirits.\n\n_If the light which is in thee be darkness, how great is that\ndarkness!_ If the intention which ought to enlighten the whole soul, to\nfill it with knowledge, and love, and peace, and which, in fact, does\nso as long as it is single, as long as it aims at God alone: if this be\ndarkness; if it aim at any thing beside God, and consequently cover the\nsoul with darkness instead of light, with ignorance and error, with sin\nand misery: O how great is that darkness! It is the very smoke which\nascends out of the bottomless pit! It is the essential night, which\nreigns in the lowest deep, in the land of the shadow of death.\n\n9. Therefore _lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where\nmoth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal_.\nIf you do, it is plain your eye is evil: it is not singly fixed on God.\n\n*With regard to most of the commandments of God, whether relating to\nthe heart or life, the Heathens of _Afric_ or _America_ stand much on\na level, with those that are called Christians. The Christians observe\nthem (a few only being excepted) very near as much as the Heathens.\nFor instance: the generality of the natives of _England_, commonly\ncalled Christians, are as sober and as temperate, as the generality\nof the Heathens, near the _Cape_ of _Good Hope_. And so the _Dutch_\nor _French_ Christians, are as humble and as chaste, as the _Choctaw_\nor _Cherokee-Indians_. It is not easy to say, when we compare the\nbulk of the nations in _Europe_ with those in _America_, whether the\nsuperiority lies on the one side or the other. At least, the _American_\nhas not much the advantage. But we cannot affirm this, with regard to\nthe command now before us. Here the Heathen has far the pre-eminence.\nHe desires and seeks nothing more than plain food to eat, and plain\nraiment to put on. And he seeks this only from day to day. He reserves,\nhe lays up nothing; unless it be, as much corn at one season of\nthe year, as he will need before that season returns. This command,\ntherefore, the Heathens, though they know it not, do constantly and\npunctually observe. They _lay up for themselves no treasures upon\nearth_: no stores of purple or fine linen, of gold or silver, which\neither _moth or rust may corrupt_, or _thieves break through and steal_.\nBut how do the Christians observe, what they profess to receive as a\ncommand of the most high God? Not at all; not in any degree; no more\nthan if no such command had ever been given to man. Even the _good\nChristians_, as they are accounted by others as well as themselves,\npay no manner of regard thereto. It might as well be still hid in its\noriginal _Greek_, for any notice they take of it. In what Christian\ncity do you find one man of five hundred, who makes the least scruple,\nof laying up just as much treasure as he can? Of increasing his goods\njust as far as he is able? There are indeed those who would not do this\nunjustly: there are many who will neither rob nor steal; and some, who\nwill not defraud their neighbour; nay, who will not gain, either by his\nignorance or necessity. But this is quite another point. Even these do\nnot scruple the thing, but the manner of it. They do not scruple the\n_laying up treasures upon earth_; but the laying them up by dishonesty.\nThey do not start at disobeying _Christ_, but at a breach of Heathen\nmorality. So that even these honest men do no more obey this command,\nthan a highwayman or a house-breaker. Nay, they never designed to obey\nit. From their youth up, it never entered into their thoughts. They\nwere bred up by their Christian parents, masters and friends, without\nany instruction at all concerning it: unless it were this, to break\nit as soon, and as much as they could, and to continue breaking it to\ntheir live\u2019s end.\n\n10. *There is no one instance of spiritual infatuation in the world,\nwhich is more amazing than this. Most of these very men read, or hear\nthe bible read, many of them every Lord\u2019s day. They have read or heard\nthese words an hundred times, and yet never suspect that they are\nthemselves condemned thereby, any more than by those which forbid\nparents to offer up their sons or daughters unto _Moloch_.\n\nO that God would speak to these miserable self-deceivers, with his own\nvoice, his mighty voice! That they may at last awake out of the snare\nof the devil, and the scales may fall from their eyes!\n\n11. Do you ask, what it is to lay _up treasures on earth_? It will be\nneedful to examine this thoroughly. And let us, first, observe, what is\nnot forbidden in this command, that we may then clearly discern, what\nis.\n\nWe are not forbidden in this command, first, to _provide things honest\nin the sight of all men_, to provide wherewith we may _render unto\nall their due_, whatsoever they can justly demand of us. So far from\nit, that we are taught of God, to _owe no man any thing_. We ought\ntherefore to use all diligence in our calling, in order to owe no man\nany thing: this being no other than a plain law of common justice,\nwhich our Lord came _not to destroy but to fulfil_.\n\nNeither, secondly, does he here forbid the providing for ourselves,\nsuch things as are needful for the body: a sufficiency of plain,\nwholesome food to eat, and clean raiment to put on. Yea, it is our duty,\nso far as God puts it into our power, to provide these things also; to\nthe end we may _eat our own bread_, and be _burdensome to no man_.\n\nNor yet are we forbidden, thirdly, to provide for our children, and\nfor those of our own household. This also it is our duty to do, even\nupon principles of Heathen morality. Every man ought to provide the\nplain necessaries of life, for his own wife and children: and to put\nthem into a capacity of providing these for themselves, when he is\ngone hence and is no more seen. I say, of providing _these_, the plain\nnecessaries of life, not delicacies, not superfluities: and that by\ntheir _diligent labour_; for it is no man\u2019s duty to furnish them any\nmore than himself, with the means either of luxury or idleness. But if\nany man provide not thus far for his own children, (as well as for _the\nwidows of his own house_; of whom primarily St. _Paul_ is speaking, in\nthose well known words to _Timothy_): _he hath_ practically _denied the\nfaith, and is worse than an infidel_, or Heathen.\n\nLastly, We are not forbidden in these words, to lay up from time to\ntime, what is needful for the carrying on our worldly business, in such\na measure and degree, as is sufficient to answer the foregoing purposes:\nin such a measure, as first, to owe no man any thing; secondly, to\nprocure for ourselves the necessaries of life; and thirdly, to furnish\nthose of our own house with them while we live, and with the means of\nprocuring them when we are gone to God.\n\n12. *We may now clearly discern (unless we are unwilling to discern it)\nwhat that is which is forbidden here. It is, the designedly procuring\nmore of this world\u2019s goods, than will answer the foregoing purposes:\nthe labouring after a larger measure of worldly substance, a larger\nincrease of gold and silver; the laying up any more than these ends\nrequire, is what is here expresly and absolutely forbidden. If the\nwords have any meaning at all, it must be this: for they are capable\nof no other. Consequently, whoever he is, that owing no man any thing,\nand having food and raiment for himself and his houshold, together\nwith a sufficiency to carry on his worldly business, so far as answers\nthese reasonable purposes: whosoever, I say, being already in these\ncircumstances, seeks a still larger portion on earth, he lives in an\nopen, habitual denial of the Lord that bought him. He hath practically\n_denied the faith, and is worse than an_ African _or_ American\n_infidel_.\n\n13. *Hear ye this all ye that dwell in the world, and love the world\nwherein ye dwell. Ye may be _highly esteemed of men_; but ye are _an\nabomination in the sight of God_. How long shall your souls cleave\nto the dust? How long will ye load yourselves with thick clay? When\nwill ye awake and see, that the open, speculative Heathens, are nearer\nthe kingdom of heaven than you? When will ye be persuaded to chuse\nthe better part; that which cannot be taken away from you? When will\nye seek only to _lay up treasures in heaven_, renouncing, dreading,\nabhorring all other? If you aim at _laying up treasures on earth_,\nyou are not _barely_ losing your time, and spending your strength for\nthat which is not bread: for what is the fruit, if you succeed? You\nhave murdered your own soul. You have extinguished the last spark of\nspiritual life therein. Now indeed, in the midst of life you are in\ndeath. You are a living man, but a dead Christian. _For where your\ntreasure is, there will your heart be also._ Your heart is sunk into\nthe dust: your soul cleaveth to the ground. Your affections are set,\nnot on things above, but on things of the earth; on poor husks that may\npoison, but cannot satisfy an everlasting spirit, made for God. Your\nlove, your joy, your desire are all placed on the things which perish\nin the using. You have thrown away the treasure in heaven: God and\n_Christ_ are lost. You have gained riches and hell-fire.\n\n14. O _how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of\nGod_! When our Lord\u2019s disciples were astonished at his speaking thus,\nhe was so far from retracting it, that he repeated the same important\ntruth, in stronger terms than before. _It is easier for a camel to\ngo through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the\nkingdom of God._ *How hard is it for them whose every word is applauded,\nnot to be wise in their own eyes! How hard, for them not to think\nthemselves better than the poor, base, uneducated herd of men! How\nhard, not to seek happiness in their riches, or in things dependent\nupon them; in gratifying the desire of the flesh, the desire of the\neye, or the pride of life! O ye rich, how can ye escape the damnation\nof hell?\u2015\u2015Only with God all things are possible.\n\n15. *And even if you do not succeed, what is the fruit of your\n_endeavouring_ to lay up treasures on earth? _They that will be rich_\n(\u03b1\u1f31 \u03b2\u03bf\u03c5\u03bb\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd, they that desire, that endeavour after it,\nwhether they succeed or no) _fall into a temptation and a snare_, a\ngin, a trap of the devil, _and into many foolish and hurtful lusts_;\n\u1f10\u03c0\u1f76 \u03b8\u03c5\u03bc\u03af\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f00\u03bd\u03bf\u03ae\u03c4\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2, desires with which reason hath nothing to do;\nsuch as properly belong, not to rational and immortal beings, but only\nto the brute-beasts, which have no understanding: _which drown men in\ndestruction and perdition_, in present and eternal misery. Let us but\nopen our eyes, and we may daily see the melancholy proofs of this: men,\nwho desiring, resolving to be rich, _coveting after money, the root of\nall evil, have_ already _pierced themselves through with many sorrows_,\nand anticipated the hell to which they are going.\n\n*The cautiousness with which the apostle here speaks, is highly\nobservable. He does not affirm this absolutely of _the rich_; for a\nman may possibly be rich, without any fault of his, by an over-ruling\nprovidence, preventing his own choice. But he affirms it of \u03bf\u1f31\n\u03b2\u03bf\u03c5\u03bb\u03cc\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c4\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd. _Those who desire_ or seek _to be rich_. Riches,\ndangerous as they are, do not always _drown men in destruction and\nperdition_. But the _desire of riches_ does: those who calmly desire\nand deliberately seek to attain them, whether they do, in fact, gain\nthe world or no, do infallibly lose their own souls. These are they,\nthat sell him who bought them with his blood, for a few pieces of gold\nor silver. These enter into a covenant with death and hell: and their\ncovenant shall stand. For they are daily making themselves meet to\npartake of their inheritance with the devil and his angels.\n\n16. O who shall warn this generation of vipers, to flee from the wrath\nto come! Not those who lie at their gate, or cringe at their feet,\ndesiring to be fed with the crumbs that fall from their tables. Not\nthose who court their favour, or fear their frown; none of those who\nmind earthly things. But if there be a Christian upon earth, if there\nbe a man who hath overcome the world, who desires nothing but God,\nand fears none but him that is able to destroy both body and soul in\nhell: thou, O man of God, speak and spare not; lift up thy voice like\na trumpet. Cry aloud and shew these honourable sinners the desperate\ncondition wherein they stand. It may be, one in a thousand may have\nears to hear, may arise and shake himself from the dust; may break\nloose from these chains that bind him to the earth, and at length lay\nup treasures in heaven.\n\n17. And if it should be, that one of these, by the mighty power of God,\nawoke and asked, What must I do to be saved? The answer, according to\nthe oracles of God, is clear, full and express. God doth not say to\nthee, _Sell all that thou hast_. Indeed he who seeth the hearts of men,\nsaw it needful to enjoin this in one peculiar case, that of the _young,\nrich ruler_. But he never laid it down for a general rule, to all rich\nmen, in all succeeding generations. His general direction is, first,\n*_Be not high-minded_. God seeth not as man seeth. He esteems thee not\nfor thy riches, for thy grandeur or equipage, for any qualification or\naccomplishment, which is directly or indirectly owing to thy wealth,\nwhich can be bought, or procured thereby. All these are with him as\ndung and dross: let them be so with thee also. Beware thou think not\nthyself to be one jot wiser, or better for all these things. Weigh\nthyself in another balance: estimate thyself only by the measure of\nfaith and love which God hath given thee. If thou hast more of the\nknowledge and love of God than he, thou art on this account and no\nother, wiser and better, more valuable and honourable than him, who is\nwith the dogs of thy flock. But if thou hast not this treasure, thou\nart more foolish, more vile, more truly contemptible, I will not say,\nthan the lowest servant under thy roof, but than the beggar laid at thy\ngate, full of sores.\n\n18. *Secondly, _Trust not in uncertain riches_. Trust not in them for\nhelp: and trust not in them for happiness.\n\nFirst, Trust not in them for help. Thou art miserably mistaken, if thou\nlookest for this in gold or silver. These are no more able to set thee\n_above the world_, than to set thee above the devil. Know that both\nthe world and the prince of this world laugh at all such preparations\nagainst them. These will little avail in the day of trouble: even if\nthey remain in the trying hour. But it is not certain, that they will:\nfor how oft do they _make themselves wings and fly away_? But if not,\nwhat support will they afford, even in the ordinary troubles of life?\nThe desire of thy eyes, the wife of thy youth, thy son, thine only son,\nor the friend which was as thy own soul, is taken away at a stroke.\nWill thy riches re-animate the breathless clay, or call back its late\ninhabitant?\u2015\u2015Will they secure thee from sickness, diseases, pain? Do\nthese visit the poor only? Nay; he that feeds thy flocks or tills thy\nground, has less sickness and pain than thou. He is more rarely visited\nby these unwelcome guests: and if they come there at all, they are\nmore easily driven away from the little cot, than from the cloud-topt\npalaces. And during the time that thy body is chastened with pain, or\nconsumes away with pining sickness, how do thy treasures help thee? Let\nthe poor Heathen answer.\n\n _Ut lippum pict\u00e6 tabul\u00e6, fomenta podagrum,\n Auriculas cithar\u00e6 collecta forde dolentes._\n\n19. *But there is at hand a greater trouble than all these. _Thou_\nart to die. _Thou_ art to sink into dust; to return to the ground from\nwhich thou wast taken, to mix with common clay. _Thy_ body is to go\nto the earth as it was, while thy spirit returns to God that gave it.\nAnd the time draws on: the years slide away with a swift tho\u2019 silent\npace. Perhaps your day is far spent: the noon of life is past, and\nthe evening shadows begin to rest upon you. You feel in yourself\nsure-approaching decay. The springs of life wear away apace. Now what\nhelp is there in your riches? Do they sweeten death? Do they endear\nthat solemn hour? Quite the reverse. _O death how bitter art thou,\nto a man that liveth at rest in his possessions?_ How unacceptable\nto him is that awful sentence, _This night shall thy soul be required\nof thee_!\u2015\u2015Or will they prevent the unwelcome stroke, or protract\nthe dreadful hour? Can they deliver your soul that it should not see\ndeath? Can they restore the years that are past? Can they add to your\nappointed time, a month, a day, an hour, a moment?\u2015\u2015Or will the good\nthings you have chosen for your portion here, follow you over the great\ngulf? Not so: naked came you into this world; naked must you return.\n\n _Linquenda tellus, & domus & placens\n Uxor: nec harum quas seris arborum\n Te pr\u00e6ter invisam cupressum,\n Ulla brevem dominum sequetur!_\n\nSurely were not these truths too plain to be _observed_, because they\nare too plain to be _denied_, no man that is to die could possibly\n_trust_, for help, _in uncertain riches_!\n\n20. *And trust not in them for happiness. For here also they will\nbe found _deceitful upon the weights_. Indeed this every reasonable\nman may infer, from what has been observed already. For if neither\nthousands of gold and silver, nor any of the advantages or pleasures\npurchased thereby, can prevent our being miserable, it evidently\nfollows, they cannot make us happy. What happiness can they afford to\nhim, who in the midst of all is constrained to cry out,\n\n \u201cTo my new courts sad thought does still repair,\n And round my gilded roofs hangs hovering care.\u201d\n\nIndeed experience is here so full, strong, and undeniable, that it\nmakes all other arguments needless. Appeal we therefore to fact. Are\nthe rich and great, the only happy men? And is each of them more or\nless happy, in proportion to his measure of riches? Are they happy at\nall? I had well nigh said, they are of all men most miserable! Rich man,\nfor once, speak the truth from thy heart. Speak, both for thyself, and\nfor thy brethren,\n\n \u201cAmidst our plenty something still\u2015\u2015\n To me, to thee, to him is wanting!\n That cruel something unpossest\n Corrodes and leavens all the rest.\u201d\n\nYea, and so it will, \u2019till thy wearisome days of vanity are shut up in\nthe night of death.\n\nSurely then, to trust in riches for happiness, is the greatest folly\nof all that are under the sun! Are you not convinced of this? Is it\npossible, you should still expect to find happiness in money, or all\nit can procure? What! *Can silver and gold, and eating and drinking,\nand horses and servants, and glittering apparel, and diversions and\npleasures (as they are called) make thee happy? They can as soon make\nthee immortal.\n\n21. These are all dead shew. Regard them not. _Trust_ thou _in the\nliving_ God. So shalt thou be safe under the shadow of the Almighty;\nhis faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler. He is a\nvery present help in time of trouble; such an help as can never fail.\nThen shalt thou say, if all thy other friends die, _the_ Lord _liveth,\nand blessed be my strong helper_! He shall remember thee when thou\nliest sick upon thy bed: when vain is the help of man, when all the\nthings of the earth can give no support, he will _make all thy bed in\nthy sickness_. He will sweeten thy pain; the consolations of God shall\ncause thee to clap thy hands in the flames. And even when this house of\nearth is well nigh shaken down, when it is just ready to drop into the\ndust, he will teach thee to say, _O death where is thy sting? O grave,\nwhere is thy victory? Thanks be unto_ God _who giveth me the victory\nthrough my_ Lord Jesus Christ.\n\n*O trust in him for happiness as well as for help. All the springs of\nhappiness are in him. Trust _in him who giveth us all things richly\nto enjoy_, \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03ad\u03c7\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b9 \u03c0\u03bb\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c0\u03cc\u03bb\u03b1\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03bd\u00b7 Who of his own rich and\nfree mercy, holds them out to us, as in his own hand, that receiving\nthem as his gift, and as pledges of his love, we may _enjoy all_ that\nwe possess. It is his love gives a relish to all we taste, puts life\nand sweetness into all, while every creature leads us up to the great\nCreator, and all earth is a scale to heaven. He transfuses the joys\nthat are at his own right-hand, into all he bestows on his thankful\nchildren: who having fellowship with the Father and his Son _Jesus\nChrist_, enjoy him in all and above all.\n\n22. Thirdly, seek not to _increase in goods_. _Lay not up for thyself\ntreasures upon earth._ This is a flat positive command, full as clear,\nas _thou shalt not commit adultery_. How then is it possible for a rich\nman to grow richer, without denying the Lord that bought him? Yea, how\ncan any man, who has already the necessaries of life, gain or aim at\nmore, and be guiltless? _Lay not up_, saith our Lord, _treasures upon\nearth_. If in spite of this, you do and will lay up, money or goods,\nwhich _moth or rust_ may _corrupt, or thieves break through and steal_:\nif you will add house to house, or field to field, why do you call\nyourself a Christian? You do not obey _Jesus Christ_. You do not design\nit. Why do you name yourself by his name? _Why call ye me_ Lord, Lord,\nsaith he himself, _and do not the things which I say_?\n\n23. *If you ask, \u201cBut what must we do with our goods, seeing we have\nmore than we have occasion to use, if we must not lay them up? Must\nwe throw them away?\u201d I answer, if you threw them into the sea, if you\nwere to cast them into the fire and consume them, they would be better\nbestowed \u2666than they are now. You cannot find so mischievous a manner of\nthrowing them away, as either the laying them up for your posterity, or\nthe laying them out upon yourselves, in folly and superfluity. Of all\npossible methods of _throwing them away_, these two are the very worst;\nthe most opposite to the gospel of _Christ_, and the most pernicious to\nyour own soul.\n\nHow pernicious to your own soul the latter of these is, has been\nexcellently shewn by a late writer. \u201cIf we waste our money we are\nnot only guilty of wasting a talent which God has given us, but we do\nourselves this farther harm, we turn this useful talent into a powerful\nmeans of corrupting ourselves; because so far as it is spent wrong, so\nfar it is spent in the support of some wrong temper, in gratifying some\nvain and unreasonable desires, which as Christians we are obliged to\nrenounce.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs wit and fine parts cannot be only trifled away, but will expose\nthose that have them to greater follies: so money cannot be only\ntrifled away, but if it is not used according to reason and religion,\nwill make people live a more silly and extravagant life, than they\nwould have done without it: if therefore you do not spend your money\nin doing good to others, you must spend it to the hurt of yourself.\nYou act like one that refuses the cordial to his sick friend, which\nhe cannot drink himself without inflaming his blood. For this is the\ncase of superfluous money; if you give it to those who want it, it is\na cordial. If you spend it upon yourself in something that you do not\nwant, it only inflames and disorders your mind.\u201d\n\n\u201cIn using riches where they have no real use, nor we any real want, we\nonly use them to our great hurt, in creating unreasonable desires, in\nnourishing ill tempers, in indulging foolish passions, and supporting\na vain turn of mind. For high eating and drinking, fine clothes and\nfine houses, state and equipage, gay pleasures and diversions, do all\nof them naturally hurt and disorder our heart. They are the food and\nnourishment of all the folly and weakness of our nature. They are all\nof them the support of something, that ought not to be supported. They\nare contrary to that sobriety and piety of heart, which relishes divine\nthings. They are so many weights upon our mind, that make us less able\nand less inclined to raise our thoughts and affections to things above.\u201d\n\n\u201cSo that money thus spent is not merely wasted or lost, but it is spent\nto bad purposes and miserable effects; to the corruption and disorder\nof our hearts, to the making us unable to follow the sublime doctrines\nof the gospel. It is but like keeping money from the poor, to buy\npoison for ourselves.\u201d\n\n24. Equally inexcusable are those, who _lay up_ what they do not need\nfor any reasonable purposes. \u201cIf a man had hands and eyes and feet that\nhe could give to those that wanted them; if he should lock them up in a\nchest, instead of giving them to his brethren, that were blind and lame,\nshould we not justly reckon him an inhuman wretch? If he should rather\nchuse to amuse himself with hoarding them up, than intitle himself to\nan eternal reward by giving them to those that wanted eyes and hands,\nmight we not justly reckon him mad?\u201d\n\n\u201cNow money has very much the nature of eyes and feet. If therefore we\nlock it up in chests, while the poor and distrest want it for their\nnecessary uses, we are not far from the cruelty of him, that chuses\nrather to hoard up hands and eyes, than to give them to those that want\nthem. If we chuse to lay it up, rather than to intitle ourselves to\nan eternal reward by disposing of our money well, we are guilty of his\nmadness, that rather chuses to lock up eyes and hands, than to make\nhimself for ever blessed, by giving them to those that want them.\u201d\n\n25. *May not this be another reason why rich men shall so hardly enter\ninto the kingdom of heaven? A vast majority of them are under a curse,\nunder the peculiar curse of God: inasmuch as in the general tenor of\ntheir lives, they are not only robbing God continually, imbezzling and\nwasting their Lord\u2019s goods, and by that very means corrupting their own\nsouls: but also robbing the poor, the hungry, the naked; wronging the\nwidow and the fatherless, and making themselves accountable for all\nthe want, affliction and distress, which they may, but do not remove.\nYea, doth not the blood of all those who perish for want, of what they\neither lay up, or lay out needlessly, cry against them from the earth?\nO what account will they give, to him who is ready to judge both the\nquick and the dead!\n\n26. The true way of employing what you do not want yourselves, you may,\nfourthly learn from those words of our Lord, which are the counterpart\nof what went before: _Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven;\nwhere neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not\nbreak thro\u2019 and steal_. Put out whatever thou canst spare, upon better\nsecurity than this world can afford. Lay up thy treasures in the bank\nof heaven: and God shall restore them in that day. _He that hath pity\nupon the poor lendeth unto the_ Lord, _and look what he layeth out,\nit shall be paid him again_. Place that, saith he, unto my account.\nHowbeit! _thou owest me thine own self also_!\n\nGive to the poor with a single eye, with an upright heart, and \u201cWrite,\nso much given to God.\u201d For _inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least\nof these my brethren, ye have done it unto me_.\n\nThis is the part of a _faithful and wise steward_. Not, to sell either\nhis houses or lands, or principal stock, be it more or less, unless\nsome peculiar circumstance should require it; and not to desire or\nendeavour to increase it, any more than to squander it away in vanity:\nbut to employ it wholly to those wise and reasonable purposes, for\nwhich his Lord has lodged it in his hands. The wise steward, after\nhaving provided his own houshold, with what is needful for life and\ngodliness, _makes_ himself _friends with_ all that remains from time\nto time of the _mammon of unrighteousness; that when he fails, they may\nreceive him into everlasting habitations_: that whensoever his earthly\ntabernacle is dissolved, they who were before carried into _Abraham\u2019s_\nbosom, after having eaten his bread, and worn the fleece of his flock,\nand praised God for the consolation, may welcome him into paradise, and\ninto _the house of_ God, _eternal in the heavens_.\n\n27. *We _charge you_, therefore, _who are rich in this world_, as\nhaving authority from our great Lord and Master, \u1f00\u03b3\u03b1\u03b8\u03bf\u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd, _to be\nhabitually doing good_, and to live in a course of good works. _Be ye\nmerciful as your Father which is in heaven is merciful_, who doth good\nand ceaseth not. _Be ye merciful_,\u2015\u2015\u201cHow far?\u201d\u2015\u2015_After your power_,\nwith all the ability which God giveth. Make this your only measure of\ndoing good, not any beggarly maxims or customs of the world. We _charge\nyou to be rich in good works_; as you have much, to _give plenteously_.\nFreely ye have received; freely give; so as to lay up no treasure\nbut in heaven. Be ye _ready to distribute_, to every one according to\nhis necessity. Disperse abroad, give to the poor; deal your bread to\nthe hungry. Cover the naked with a garment, entertain the stranger,\ncarry or send relief to them that are in prison. Heal the sick; not by\nmiracle, but thro\u2019 the blessing of God upon your seasonable support.\nLet the blessing of him that was ready to perish thro\u2019 pining want,\ncome upon thee. Defend the oppressed, plead the cause of the fatherless,\nand make the widow\u2019s heart sing for joy.\n\n28. We exhort _you_, in the name of the _Lord Jesus Christ_, to _be\nwilling to communicate_: \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03b9\u03ba\u03bf\u1f7a\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f36\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9. To be of the same spirit\n(tho\u2019 not in the same outward state) with those believers of antient\ntimes, who _remained stedfast_ \u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u1fc7 \u03ba\u03bf\u03b9\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u1fb3, _in_ that blessed and\nholy _fellowship_, wherein _none said, that any thing was his own, but\nthey had all things common_. Be a steward, a faithful and wise steward,\nof God and of the poor; differing from them in these two circumstances\nonly, that your wants are first supplied, out of the portion of\nyour Lord\u2019s goods which remains in your hands, and that you have the\nblessedness of giving. Thus _lay up for yourselves a good foundation_,\nnot in the world, which now is, but rather _for the time to come, that\nye may lay hold on eternal life_. The great foundation indeed of all\nthe blessings of God, whether temporal or eternal, is the _Lord Jesus\nChrist_, his righteousness and blood, what he hath done, and what he\nhath suffered for us. And _other foundation_, in this sense, _can no\nman lay_; no not an apostle, no not an angel from heaven. But thro\u2019 his\nmerits, whatever we do in his name, is a foundation for a good reward,\nin the day when _every man shall receive his own reward, according\nto his own labour_. Therefore, _labour_ thou, _not for the meat\nthat perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life_.\nTherefore _whatsoever thy hand_ now _findeth to do, do it with thy\nmight_. Therefore let\n\n \u201cNo fair occasion pass unheeded by;\n Snatching the golden moments as they fly,\n Thou by few fleeting years ensure eternity!\u201d\n\n_By patient continuance in well-doing seek_ thou _for glory and honour\nand immortality_. In a constant, zealous performance of all good works,\nwait thou for that happy hour, when _the King shall say, I was hungry\nand ye gave me meat; I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. I was a\nstranger and ye took me in, naked and ye cloathed me. I was sick and ye\nvisited me; I was in prison and ye came unto me. Come, ye blessed of my\nFather, receive the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the\nworld!_\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXIX.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE IX.\n MATT. vi. 24\u201234.\n\n\n _No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and\n love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the\n other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.\n\n Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye\n shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what\n ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body\n than raiment?\n\n Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they\n reap, nor gather into barns: yet your heavenly Father feedeth\n them. Are ye not much better than they?\n\n Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?\n\n And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lillies of the\n field how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:\n\n And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was\n not arrayed like one of these.\n\n Wherefore if God so cloath the grass of the field, which to-day\n is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more\n cloath you, O ye of little faith?\n\n Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? Or, what\n shall we drink? Or, wherewithal shall we be cloathed?\n\n (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek) for your\n heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.\n\n But first seek ye the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and\n all these things shall be added unto you.\n\n Take therefore no thought for the morrow; for the morrow shall\n take thought for the things of itself: sufficient unto the day\n is the evil thereof._\n\n1. IT is recorded of the nations whom the king of _Assyria_, after\nhe had carried _Israel_ away into captivity, placed in the cities of\n_Samaria_, _They feared the_ Lord, _and served their own gods. These\nnations_, saith the inspired writer, _feared the_ Lord, performed an\noutward service to him, (a plain proof that they had a fear of God,\ntho\u2019 not according to knowledge) _and served their graven images, both\ntheir children and their children\u2019s children; as did their fathers, so\ndid they unto this day_, 2 Kings xvii. 33, &c.\n\nHow nearly does the practice of most modern Christians, resemble this\nof the ancient Heathens? _They fear the_ Lord: they also perform an\noutward service to him, and hereby shew, they have some fear of God;\nbut they likewise _serve their own gods_. There are those who _teach\nthem_ (as there were who taught the _Assyrians_) _the manner of the_\nGod _of the land_; the God whose name the country bears to this day,\nand who was once worshipped there with an holy worship. _Howbeit_,\nthey do not serve him alone; they do not fear him enough for this.\nBut _every nation maketh gods of their own, every nation in the cities\nwherein they dwell. These nations fear the_ Lord, they have not laid\naside the outward form of worshipping him. But _they serve their graven\nimages_, silver and gold, the work of men\u2019s hands. Money, pleasure and\npraise, the gods of this world, more than divide their service with the\nGod of _Israel_. This is the manner both of _their children and their\nchildren\u2019s children; as did their fathers, so do they unto this day_.\n\n2. But altho\u2019 speaking in a loose way, after the common manner of men,\nthose poor Heathens were said _to fear the_ Lord, yet we may observe\nthe Holy Ghost immediately adds, speaking according to the truth and\nreal nature of things, _They fear not the_ Lord, _neither do after the\nlaw and commandment which the_ Lord _commanded the children of Jacob:\nwith whom the_ Lord _made a covenant, and charged them, saying, Ye\nshall not fear other gods, nor serve them.\u2015\u2015But the_ Lord _your_ God\n_ye shall fear, and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all your\nenemies_.\n\nThe same judgment is passed by the unerring Spirit of God, and indeed\nby all, the eyes of whose understanding he hath opened, to discern\nthe things of God, upon these poor Christians, commonly so called.\nIf we speak according to the truth and real nature of things, _they\nfear not the_ Lord, _neither do they serve him_. For they do not _after\nthe covenant the_ Lord _hath made with them, neither after the law and\ncommandment which he hath commanded them_, saying, Thou shalt worship\nthe Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. _They serve other\ngods_ unto this day. And _no man can serve two masters_.\n\n3. How vain is it for any man to aim at this? To attempt the serving\nof two masters. Is it not easy to foresee, what must be the unavoidable\nconsequence of such an attempt? _Either he will hate the one and love\nthe other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other._\nThe two parts of this sentence, altho\u2019 separately proposed, are to\nbe understood in connexion with each other. For the latter part is\na consequence of the former. He will naturally _hold to_ him whom\nhe loves. He will so cleave to him, as to perform to him a willing,\nfaithful, and diligent service. And in the mean time, he will so far,\nat least, _despise_ the master he hates, as to have little regard to\nhis commands, and to obey them, if at all, in a slight and careless\nmanner. Therefore, whatsoever the wise men of the world may suppose,\n_Ye cannot serve_ God _and mammon_.\n\n4. _Mammon_ was the name of one of the Heathen gods, who was supposed\nto preside over riches. It is here understood of riches themselves;\ngold and silver, or in general, money: and by a common figure of speech,\nof all that may be purchased thereby; such as ease, honour, and sensual\npleasure.\n\nBut what are we here to understand, by _serving_ God? And what, by\n_serving mammon_?\n\nWe cannot _serve_ God, unless we believe in him. This is the only\ntrue foundation of serving him. Therefore, the believing in God, as\n_reconciling the world to himself_ thro\u2019 _Christ Jesus_, the believing\nin him, as a loving, pardoning God, is the first great branch of his\nservice.\n\nAnd, thus to believe in God implies, to _trust_ in him as our strength,\nwithout whom we can do nothing; who every moment endues us with power\nfrom on high, without which it is impossible to please him: as our help,\nour only help in time of trouble, who compasseth us about with songs of\ndeliverance: as our shield, our defender, and the lifter up of our head\nabove all our enemies that are round about us.\n\nIt implies, to trust in God as our happiness; as the center of spirits,\nthe only rest of our souls; the only good who is adequate to all our\ncapacities, and sufficient to satisfy all the desires he hath given us.\n\nIt implies (what is nearly allied to the other) to trust in God, as\nour end; to have an eye to him in all things; to use all things only as\nmeans of enjoying him: wheresoever we are, or whatsoever we do, to see\nhim that is invisible, looking on us well-pleased, and refer all things\nto him in _Christ Jesus_.\n\n5. Thus to believe, is the first thing we are to understand by\n_serving_ God. The second is, To love him.\n\nNow, to love God in the manner the scripture describes, in the manner\nGod himself requires of us, and by requiring engages to work in us, is\nto love him as the one God: that is, _with all our heart and with all\nour soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength_: it is to\ndesire God alone for his own sake; and nothing else, but with reference\nto him: to rejoice in God; to delight in the Lord; not only to seek but\nfind happiness in him: to enjoy God as the chiefest among ten thousand:\nto rest in him, as our God and our all. In a word, to have such a\npossession of God, as makes us always happy.\n\n6. A third thing we are to understand by _serving_ God, is, To resemble\nor imitate him.\n\nSo the antient Father, _Optimus Dei Cultus, imitari quem colis_. It is\nthe best worship or service of God, to imitate him you worship.\n\nWe here speak, of imitating or resembling him in the spirit of our\nminds. For here the true Christian imitation of God begins. God is a\nSpirit; and they that imitate or resemble him, must do it in spirit and\nin truth.\n\nNow God is love. Therefore they who resemble him in the spirit of their\nminds, are transformed into the same image. They are merciful, even\nas he is merciful. Their soul is all love. They are kind, benevolent,\ncompassionate, tender-hearted: and that not only to the good and gentle,\nbut also to the froward. Yea, they are, like him, loving unto every man,\nand their mercy extends to all his works.\n\n7. One thing more we are to understand by _serving_ God, and that is,\nthe obeying him; the glorifying him with our bodies, as well as with\nour spirits: the keeping his outward commandments: the zealously doing\nwhatever he hath enjoined, the carefully avoiding whatever he hath\nforbidden: the performing all the ordinary actions of life, with a\nsingle eye and a pure heart; offering them all in holy, fervent love,\nas sacrifices to God, through _Jesus Christ_.\n\n8. Let us consider now, what we are to understand, on the other hand,\nby _serving mammon_. And first, it implies, the _trusting_ in riches,\nin money, or the things purchasable thereby, as our strength, the means\nwhereby we shall perform, whatever cause we have in hand: the trusting\nin them as our help, by which we look to be comforted in, or delivered\nout of trouble.\n\nIt implies, the trusting in the world for happiness; the supposing that\n_a man\u2019s life consisteth_ (the comfort of his life) _in the abundance\nof things which he possesseth_: the looking for rest, in the things\nthat are seen; for content in outward plenty; the expecting that\nsatisfaction in the things of the world, which can never be found out\nof God.\n\nAnd if we do this, we cannot but make the world our end: the ultimate\nend, if not of all at least of many of our undertakings, many of our\nactions and designs: in which we shall aim only at an increase of\nwealth, at the obtaining pleasure or praise; at the gaining a larger\nmeasure of temporal things, without any reference to things eternal.\n\n9. The _serving mammon_ implies, secondly, loving the world: desiring\nit for its own sake; the placing our joy in the things thereof, and\nsetting our hearts upon them: the seeking (what indeed it is impossible\nwe should find) our happiness therein: the resting with the whole\nweight of our souls, upon the staff of this broken reed; although daily\nexperience shews it cannot support, but will only _enter into our hand\nand pierce it_.\n\n10. To resemble, to be conformed to the world, is a third thing we\nare to understand by _serving mammon_: to have not only designs, but\ndesires, tempers, affections suitable to those of the world: to be of\nan earthly, sensual mind, chained down to the things of earth: to be\nself-willed, inordinate lovers of ourselves: to think highly of our own\nattainments; to desire and delight in the praise of men: to fear, shun,\nand abhor reproach: to be impatient of reproof, easy to be provoked,\nand swift to return evil for evil.\n\n11. To _serve mammon_ is, lastly, to obey the world, by outwardly\nconforming to its maxims and customs; to walk as other men walk, in the\ncommon road, in the broad, smooth, beaten path; to be in the fashion,\nto follow a multitude; to do like the rest of our neighbours; that\nis, to do the will of the flesh and the mind, to gratify our appetites\nand inclinations: to sacrifice to ourselves; aim at our own ease and\npleasure, in the general course both of our words and actions.\n\nNow what can be more undeniably clear, than that we _cannot_ thus\n_serve_ God _and mammon_?\n\n12. *Does not every man see, that he cannot _comfortably_ serve\nboth? That to trim between God and the world, is the sure way to be\ndisappointed in both, and to have no rest either in one or the other?\nHow uncomfortable a condition must he be in, who having the fear but\nnot the love of God, who serving him, but not with all his heart, has\nonly the toils and not the joys of religion? He has religion enough to\nmake him miserable, but not enough to make him happy: his religion will\nnot let him enjoy the world; and the world will not let him enjoy God.\nSo that by halting between both he loses both, and has no peace either\nin God or the world.\n\n13. Does not every man see, that he cannot serve both, _consistently_\nwith himself? What more glaring inconsistency can be conceived, than\nmust continually appear in his whole behaviour, who is endeavouring\nto obey both these masters, striving to _serve_ God _and mammon_? He\nis indeed _a sinner that goeth two ways_; one step forward and another\nbackward. He is continually building up with one hand, and pulling down\nwith the other. He loves sin, and he hates it: he is always seeking,\nand yet always fleeing from God. He would and he would not. He is not\nthe same man, for one day, no, not for an hour together. He is a motly\nmixture of all sorts of contrarieties; a heap of contradictions jumbled\nin one. O, be consistent with thyself, one way or the other. Turn to\nthe right-hand or to the left. If _mammon_ be God, serve thou him; if\nthe Lord, then serve him. But never think of serving either at all,\nunless it be with thy whole heart.\n\n14. Does not every reasonable, every thinking man see, that he\ncannot _possibly serve_ God _and mammon_? Because there is the most\nabsolute contrariety, the most irreconcileable enmity between them. The\ncontrariety between the most opposite things on earth, between fire and\nwater, darkness and light, vanishes into nothing, when compared to the\ncontrariety between God and mammon. So that in whatsoever respect you\nserve the one, you necessarily renounce the other. Do you believe in\nGod through _Christ_? Do you _trust_ in him as your strength, your help,\nyour shield, and your exceeding great reward? As your happiness? Your\nend in all, above all things? Then you cannot _trust_ in riches. It is\nabsolutely impossible you should, so long as you have this faith in God.\nDo you thus _trust in riches_? Then you have denied the faith. You do\nnot trust in the living God. Do you _love_ God? Do you seek and find\nhappiness in him? Then you cannot love the world; neither the things\nof the world. You are crucified to the world, and the world crucified\nto you. Do you _love the world_? Are your affections set on things\nbeneath? Do you seek happiness in earthly things? Then it is impossible\nyou should love God. Then the love of the Father is not in you. Do you\n_resemble_ God? Are you merciful, as your Father is merciful? Are you\ntransformed by the renewal of your mind, into the image of him that\ncreated you? Then you cannot be conformed to the present world. You\nhave renounced all its affections and lusts. Are you conformed to the\nworld? Does your soul still bear the image of the earthly? Then you\nare not renewed in the spirit of your mind. You do not bear the image\nof the heavenly. Do you _obey_ God? Are you zealous to do his will\non earth as the angels do in heaven? Then it is impossible you should\n_obey mammon_. Then you set the world at open defiance. You trample\nits customs and maxims under foot, and will neither follow nor be led\nby them. Do you follow the world? Do you live like other men? Do you\nplease men? Do you please yourself? Then you cannot be a servant of God.\nYou are of your master and father, the devil.\n\n15. Therefore thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and him only shalt\nthou serve. Thou shalt lay aside all thoughts of obeying two masters,\nof serving God and mammon. Thou shalt propose to thyself no end, no\nhelp, no happiness, but God. Thou shalt seek nothing in earth or heaven\nbut him: thou shalt aim at nothing, but to know, to love and enjoy\nhim. And because this is all your business below, the only view you\ncan reasonably have, the one design you are to pursue in all things;\n_therefore I say unto you_ (as our Lord continues his discourse)\n_take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall\ndrink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on_. A deep and weighty\ndirection, which it imports us well to consider and throughly to\nunderstand.\n\n16. Our Lord does not here require, that we should be utterly without\nthought, even touching the concerns of this life. A giddy, careless\ntemper is at the farthest remove from the whole religion of _Jesus\nChrist_. Neither does he require us to be _slothful in business_, to\nbe slack and dilatory therein. This likewise is contrary to the whole\nspirit and genius of his religion. A Christian abhors sloth as much as\ndrunkenness, and flees from idleness as he does from adultery. He well\nknows, that there is one kind of thought and care, with which God is\nwell-pleased; which is absolutely needful for the due performance \u2666of\nthose outward works, unto which the providence of God has called him.\n\nIt is the will of God, that every man should labour to _eat his own\nbread_: yea, and that every man should provide for his own, for them\nof his own houshold. It is likewise his will that we should _owe no man\nany thing_, but _provide things honest in the sight of all men_. But\nthis cannot be done, without taking some thought, without having some\ncare upon our minds: yea, often, not without long and serious thought,\nnot without much and earnest care. Consequently, this care, to provide\nfor ourselves and our houshold, this thought, how to render to all\ntheir dues, our blessed Lord does not condemn. Yea, it \u2666is good and\nacceptable in the sight of God our Saviour.\n\nIt is good and acceptable to God, that we should so take thought\nconcerning whatever we have in hand, as to have a clear comprehension\nof what we are about to do, and to plan our business before we enter\nupon it. And it is right that we should carefully consider from time\nto time, what steps we are to take therein; as well as that we should\nprepare all things before hand, for the carrying it on in the most\neffectual manner. This care termed by some, \u201cThe care of the head,\u201d it\nwas by no means our Lord\u2019s design to condemn.\n\n17. What he here condemns is, \u201cThe care of the heart:\u201d the anxious,\nuneasy care: the care that hath torment; all such care as does hurt,\neither to the soul or body. What he forbids is, that care which sad\nexperience shews, wastes the blood and drinks up the spirits: which\nanticipates all the misery it fears, and comes to torment us before\nthe time. He forbids only that care, which poisons the blessings\nof to-day, by fear of what may be to-morrow; which cannot enjoy the\npresent plenty, though apprehensions of future want. This care is not\nonly a sore disease, a grievous sickness of soul, but also an heinous\noffence against God, a sin of the deepest dye. It is an high affront\nto the gracious Governor and wise disposer of all things; necessarily\nimplying, that the great Judge does not do right, that he does not\norder all things well. It plainly implies, that he is wanting, either\nin wisdom, if he does not know what things we stand in need of: or in\ngoodness, if he does not provide those things, for all who put their\ntrust in him. Beware therefore that you take not thought in this sense:\nbe ye anxiously careful for nothing. Take no uneasy thought: this is a\nplain, sure rule, _uneasy_ care is _unlawful care_. With a single eye\nto God do all that in you lies, to provide things honest in the sight\nof all men. And then give up all into better hands: leave the whole\nevent to God.\n\n18. _Take no thought_ of this kind, no uneasy thought even _for your\nlife, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body,\nwhat ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than\nraiment?_ If then God gave you life, the greater gift, will he not give\nyou food to sustain it? If he hath given you the body, how can ye doubt,\nbut he will give you raiment to cover it? More especially, if you give\nyourselves up to him, and serve him with your whole heart. _Behold_,\nsee before your eyes, _the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither\ndo they reap, nor gather into barns_; and yet they lack nothing, _yet\nyour heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye much better than they?_\nYe that are creatures capable of God? Are ye not of more account in\nthe eyes of God? Of a higher rank in the scale of beings? _And which of\nyou by taking thought, can add one cubit to his stature?_ What profit\nhave you then from this anxious thought? It is every way fruitless and\nunavailing.\n\n_And why take ye thought for raiment?_ Have ye not a daily reproof,\nwherever you turn your eyes? _Consider the lillies of the field how\nthey grow; they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you,\nthat even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.\nWherefore if_ God _so cloath the grass of the field, which to day is,\nand to morrow is cast into the oven_, is cut down, burnt up and seen\nno more, _shall he not much more cloath you, O ye of little faith_?\nYou whom he made to endure for ever and ever, to be pictures of his own\neternity! Ye are indeed of little faith. Otherwise ye could not doubt\nof his love and care, no, not for a moment.\n\n19. _Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat_, if we lay\nup no treasure upon earth? _What shall we drink_, if we serve God with\nall our strength, if our eye be singly fixed on him? _Wherewithal shall\nwe be cloathed_, if we are not conformed to the world, if we disoblige\nthose by whom we might be profited? _For after all these things do the\nGentiles seek_, the Heathens who know not God. But ye are sensible,\n_your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things_.\nAnd he hath pointed out to you an infallible way, of being constantly\nsupplied therewith. _Seek ye first the kingdom of_ God _and his\nrighteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you_.\n\n20. _Seek ye first the kingdom of_ God. Before ye give place to any\nother thought or care, let it be your concern, that the God and Father\nof our Lord _Jesus Christ_, who _gave his only begotten Son, to the end\nthat believing in him, ye might not perish but have everlasting life_,\nmay reign in your heart, may manifest himself in your soul, and dwell\nand rule there: that he may _cast down every high thing which exalteth\nitself against the knowledge of_ God, _and bring into captivity every\nthought to the obedience of_ Christ. Let God have the sole dominion\nover you. Let him reign without a rival. Let him possess all your heart,\nand rule alone. Let him be your one desire, your joy, your love: so\nthat all that is within you may continually cry out, _The_ Lord God\n_omnipotent reigneth_.\n\n_Seek the kingdom of_ God _and his righteousness_. Righteousness is\nthe fruit of God\u2019s reigning in the heart. And what is righteousness\nbut love? The love of God and of all mankind, flowing from faith in\n_Jesus Christ_, and producing humbleness of mind, meekness, gentleness,\nlong-suffering, patience, deadness to the world; and every right\ndisposition of heart, toward God and toward man. And by these it\nproduces all holy actions, whatsoever are lovely or of good report;\nwhatsoever works of faith and labour of love are acceptable to God and\nprofitable to man.\n\n_His righteousness_: this is all _his_ righteousness still: it is his\nown free gift to us, for the sake of _Jesus Christ_ the righteous,\nthrough whom alone it is purchased for us: and it is his _work_: it is\nhe alone that worketh it in us, by the inspiration of the holy Spirit.\n\n21. Perhaps the well observing this may give light to some other\nscriptures, which we have not always so clearly understood. St. _Paul_,\nspeaking in his epistle to the _Romans_, concerning the unbelieving\n_Jews_, saith, _They being ignorant of_ God\u2019s _righteousness, and,\ngoing about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted\nthemselves unto the righteousness of_ God. I believe this may be one\nsense of the words. They were _ignorant of_ God\u2019s _righteousness_,\nnot only of the righteousness of _Christ_, imputed to every believer,\nwhereby all his sins are blotted out, and he is reconciled to the\nfavour of God: but (which seems here to be more immediately understood)\nthey were ignorant of that inward righteousness, of that holiness of\nheart, which is with the utmost propriety termed God\u2019s _righteousness_,\nas being both his own free gift through _Christ_, and his own work, by\nhis almighty Spirit. And because they were ignorant of this, they _went\nabout to establish their own righteousness_. They laboured to establish\nthat outside righteousness, which might very properly be termed _their\nown_. For neither was it wrought by the Spirit of God, nor was it\nowned or accepted of him. They might work this themselves, by their\nown natural strength: and when they had done, it was a stink in his\nnostrils. And yet trusting in this, they would _not submit themselves\nunto the righteousness of_ God. Yea, they hardened themselves against\nthat faith, whereby alone it was possible to attain it. _For_ Christ\n_is the end of the law, for righteousness to every one that believeth.\nChrist_, when he said, _It is finished_, put an end to that law, to the\nlaw of external rites and ceremonies, that he might _bring in a better\nrighteousness_, through his blood, by that one oblation of himself once\noffered, even the image of God, into the inmost soul of _every one that\nbelieveth_.\n\n22. Nearly related to these are those words of the apostle, in his\nepistle to the _Philippians. I count all things but dung that I\nmay win_ Christ, an entrance into his everlasting kingdom, _and be\nfound in him_, believing in him, _not having mine own righteousness,\nwhich is of the law, but that which is through the faith of_ Christ,\n_the righteousness which is of_ God _by faith\u2015\u2015Not having my own\nrighteousness which is of the law_; a barely external righteousness,\nthe outside religion I formerly had, when I hoped to be accepted\nof God, because I was, _touching the righteousness which is in the\nlaw, blameless\u2015\u2015But that which is through the faith of_ Christ, _the\nrighteousness which is of_ God _by faith_: that holiness of heart, that\nrenewal of the soul, in all its desires, tempers and affections _which\nis of_ God: it is the work of God and not of man, _by faith_; through\nthe faith of _Christ_, through the revelation of _Jesus Christ_ in us,\nand by faith in his blood; whereby alone we obtain the remission of our\nsins, and an inheritance among those that are sanctified.\n\n23. _Seek ye first_ this _kingdom of_ God in your hearts, this\n_righteousness_, which is the gift and work of God, the image of God\nrenewed in your souls: _And all these things shall_ be added unto you:\nall things needful for the body; such a measure of all, as God sees\nmost for the advancement of his kingdom. These _shall be added_, they\nshall be thrown in, over and above. In seeking the peace and love\nof God, you shall not only find what you more immediately seek even\nthe kingdom that cannot be moved; but also what you seek not, not at\nall for its own sake, but only in reference to the other. You shall\nfind in your way to the kingdom all outward things, so far as they are\nexpedient for you: this care God hath taken upon himself: cast you all\nyour care upon him. He knoweth your wants; and whatsoever is lacking,\nhe will not fail to supply.\n\n24. _Therefore take no thought for the morrow._ Not only, take ye no\nthought, how to lay up treasures on earth, how to increase in worldly\nsubstance; take no thought how to procure more food than you can eat,\nor more raiment than you can put on; or more money than is required\nfrom day to day, for the plain, reasonable purposes of life: but take\nno _uneasy_ thought even concerning those things which are absolutely\nneedful for the body. Do not trouble yourself now, with thinking what\nyou shall do, at a season which is yet afar off. Perhaps that season\nwill never come: or it will be no concern of yours: before then you\nwill have passed through all the waves, and be landed in eternity.\nAll those distant views do not belong to _you_, who are but a creature\nof a day. Nay, what have you to do with _the morrow_, more strictly\nspeaking? Why should you perplex yourself without need? God provides\nfor you to-day what is needful to sustain the life which he hath given\nyou. It is enough: give yourself up into his hands: if you live another\nday, he will provide for that also.\n\n25. Above all, do not make the care of future things, a pretence for\nneglecting present duty. This is the most fatal way of _taking thought\nfor the morrow_. And how common is it among men? Many, if we exhort\nthem to keep a conscience void of offence, to abstain from what they\nare convinced is evil, do not scruple to reply, \u201cHow then must we live?\nMust we not take care of ourselves and of our families?\u201d And this they\nimagine to be a sufficient reason, for continuing in known, wilful sin.\nThey say, and perhaps think, they would serve God now, were it not that\nthey should by and by lose their bread. They would prepare for eternity;\nbut they are afraid of wanting the necessaries of life. So they serve\nthe devil for a morsel of bread: they rush into hell, for fear of want;\nthey throw away their poor souls, lest they should some time or other\nfall short, of what is needful for their bodies.\n\nIt is not strange that they who thus take the matter out of God\u2019s\nhand, should be so often disappointed of the very things they seek;\nthat while they throw away heaven, to secure the things of earth, they\nlose the one, but do not gain the other. The jealous God, in the wise\ncourse of his providence, frequently suffers this. So that they who\nwill not cast their care on God, who taking thought for temporal things,\nhave little concern for things eternal, lose the very portion which\nthey have chosen. There is a visible blast on all their undertakings:\nwhatsoever they do, it doth not prosper. Insomuch, that after they\nhave forsaken God for the world, they lose what they sought, as well\nas what they sought not. They fall short of the kingdom of God and his\nrighteousness; nor yet are other things added unto them.\n\n26. There is another way of _taking thought for the morrow_, which is\nequally forbidden in these words. It is possible to _take thought_ in\na wrong manner, even with regard to spiritual things; to be so careful\nabout what may be by and by, as to neglect what is now required at our\nhands. How insensibly do we slide into this, if we are not continually\nwatching unto prayer? How easily are we carried away, in a kind of\nwaking dream, projecting distant schemes, and drawing fine scenes in\nour own imagination! We think, what good we will do, when we are in\nsuch a place, or when such a time is come! How useful we will be, how\nplenteous in good works, when we are easier in our circumstances! How\nearnestly we will serve God, when once such an hindrance is out of the\nway.\n\nOr, perhaps, you are now in heaviness of soul: God, as it were, hides\nhis face from you. You see little of the light of his countenance;\nyou cannot taste his redeeming love. In such a temper of mind, how\nnatural is it to say, \u201cO how I will praise God, when the light of his\ncountenance shall again be lifted up upon my soul! How will I exhort\nothers to praise him, when his love is again shed abroad in my heart?\nThen I will do thus and thus: I will speak for God in all places: I\nwill not be ashamed of the gospel of _Christ_. Then I will redeem the\ntime. I will use to the uttermost every talent I have received.\u201d Do\nnot believe thyself. Thou wilt not do it then, unless thou dost it now.\n_He that is faithful in that which is little_, of whatsoever kind it\nbe, whether it be worldly substance, or the fear or love of God, _will\nbe faithful in that which is much_. But if thou now hidest one talent\nin the earth, thou wilt then hide five: that is, if ever they are\ngiven; but there is small reason to expect they ever will. Indeed _unto\nhim that hath_, that is, uses what he hath, _shall be given, and he\nshall have more abundantly. But from him that hath not_, that is, uses\nnot the grace which he hath already received, whether in a larger or\nsmaller degree, _shall be taken away even that which he hath_.\n\n27. *And _take no thought_ for the temptations of to-morrow. This also\nis a dangerous snare. Think not, \u201cWhen such a temptation comes, what\nshall I do, how shall I stand? I feel, I have not power to resist:\nI am not able to conquer that enemy.\u201d Most true: you have not _now_\nthe power which you do not _now_ stand in need of. You are not able\nat _this time_ to conquer that enemy; and at _this time_ he does not\nassault you. With the grace you have now, you could not withstand the\ntemptations which you have not. But when the temptation comes, the\ngrace will come. In greater trials you will have greater strength. When\nsufferings abound, the consolations of God will in the same proportion\nabound also. So that in every situation, the grace of God will be\nsufficient for you. He doth not suffer you _to be tempted_ to-day,\n_above that ye are able to bear_. And _in every temptation he will make\na way to escape. As thy day, so thy strength shall be._\n\n28. *_Let the morrow_ therefore _take thought for the things of itself_;\nthat is, when the morrow comes, then think of it. Live thou to-day. Be\nit thy earnest care to improve the present hour. This is your own; and\nit is your all. The past is as nothing, as though it had never been.\nThe future is nothing to you: it is not yours: perhaps it never will be.\nThere is no depending on what is yet to come; for you _know not what a\nday may bring forth_. Therefore live to-day: lose not an hour: use this\nmoment; for it is your portion. _Who knoweth the things which have been\nbefore him, or which shall be after him under the sun?_ The generations\nthat were from the beginning of the world, where are they now? Fled\naway: forgotten. They _were_; they lived their day; they were shook\noff the earth, as leaves off of their trees. They mouldered away into\ncommon dust. Another and another race succeeded; then they _followed\nthe generation of their fathers, and shall never more see the light_.\nNow is thy turn upon the earth. _Rejoice, O young man, in the days of\nthy youth._ Enjoy the very, very now; by enjoying him, _whose years\nfail not_. Now let thine eye be singly fixed on him, _in whom is no\nvariableness, neither shadow of turning_. Now give him thy heart: now\nstay thyself on him: now be thou holy as he is holy. Now lay hold of\nthe blessed opportunity of doing his acceptable and perfect will. Now\n_rejoice to suffer the loss of all things, so thou mayst win_ Christ.\n\n29. *Gladly suffer to-day, for his name\u2019s sake, whatsoever he\npermits this day to come upon thee. But look not at the sufferings of\nto-morrow. _Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof._ Evil it is,\nspeaking after the manner of men: whether it be reproach or want, pain\nor sickness. But in the language of God, all is blessing: _it is a\nprecious balm_, prepared by the wisdom of God, and variously dispensed\namong his children, according to the various sicknesses of their souls.\nAnd he gives in one day, sufficient for that day; proportioned to the\nwant and strength of the patient. If therefore thou snatchest to-day\nwhat belongs to the morrow, if thou addest this to what is given thee\nalready, it will be more than thou canst bear: this is the way not\nto heal, but to destroy thy own soul. Take therefore just as much as\nhe gives thee to-day: to-day do and suffer his will. To-day give up\nthyself, thy body, soul and spirit, to God, through _Christ Jesus_:\ndesiring nothing, but that God may be glorified in all thou art, all\nthou dost, all thou sufferest: seeking nothing, but to know God, and\nhis Son _Jesus Christ_, through the eternal spirit: pursuing nothing,\nbut to love him, to serve him, and to enjoy him at this hour, and to\nall eternity!\n\nNow unto God the Father, who hath made me and all the world; unto God\nthe Son, who hath redeemed me and all mankind; unto God the Holy Ghost,\nwho sanctifieth me and all the elect people of God: be honour, and\npraise, majesty and dominion, for ever and ever! _Amen._\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXX.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n DISCOURSE X.\n MATT. vii. 1\u201212.\n\n\n _Judge not, that ye be not judged.\n\n For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with\n what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.\n\n And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother\u2019s eye, but\n considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?\n\n Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out\n of thine eye; and behold a beam is in thine own eye?\n\n Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye;\n and then thou shalt see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy\n brother\u2019s eye.\n\n Give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast your pearls\n before swine; lest they trample them under their feet, and turn\n again and rent you.\n\n Ask and it shall be given you: seek and ye shall find: knock and\n it shall be opened unto you.\n\n For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth;\n and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened.\n\n Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give\n him a stone?\n\n Or if he ask a fish, will give him a serpent?\n\n If ye then being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your\n children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven,\n give good things to them that ask him?\n\n Therefore all things whatsoever you would that men should do\n to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the\n prophets._\n\n1. OUR blessed Lord, having now finished his main design, having first\ndelivered the sum of true religion, carefully guarded against those\nglosses of men, whereby they would make the word of God of none effect:\nand having, next, laid down rules touching that right intention, which\nwe are to preserve in all our outward actions: now proceeds to point\nout the main hindrances of this religion, and concludes all with a\nsuitable application.\n\n2. In the fifth chapter our great Teacher has fully described inward\nreligion in its various branches. He has there laid before us those\ndispositions of soul, which constitute real Christianity; the tempers\ncontained in that holiness, _without which no man shall see the\nLord_; the affections, which when flowing from their proper fountain,\nfrom a living faith in God thro\u2019 Christ Jesus, are intrinsically and\nessentially good, and acceptable to God. In the sixth he has shewn,\nhow all our actions likewise, even those that are indifferent in their\nown nature, may be made holy and good, and acceptable to God, by a pure\nand holy intention. Whatever is done without this, he declares is of no\nvalue with God: whereas whatever outward works are thus consecrated to\nGod, are in his sight of great price.\n\n3. In the former part of this chapter he points out the most common and\nmost fatal hindrances of this holiness. In the latter, he exhorts us by\nvarious motives, to break thro\u2019 all, and secure that prize of our high\ncalling.\n\n4. The first hindrance he cautions us against is judging. _Judge not,\nthat ye be not judged._ Judge not others, that ye be not judged of the\nLord, that ye bring not vengeance on your own heads. _For with what\njudgment ye judge, ye shall be judged, and with what measure ye mete,\nit shall be measured to you again_: a plain and equitable rule, whereby\nGod permits you to determine for yourselves, in what manner he shall\ndeal with you in the judgment of the great day.\n\n5. There is no station of life, nor any period of time, from the hour\nof our first repenting and believing the gospel, till we are made\nperfect in love, wherein this caution is not needful for every child of\nGod. For occasions of judging can never be wanting. And the temptations\nto it are innumerable: many whereof are so artfully disguised, that we\nfall into the sin, before we suspect any danger. And unspeakable are\nthe mischiefs produced hereby: always to him that judges another: thus\nwounding his own soul, and exposing himself to the righteous judgment\nof God: and frequently to those who are judged, whose hands hang down,\nwho are weakened and hindered in their course, if not wholly turned out\nof the way, and caused to draw back even to perdition. Yea, how often,\nwhen this _root of bitterness springs up_, are _many defiled thereby_:\nby reason whereof the way of truth itself is evil spoken of, and that\nworthy name blasphemed whereby we are called.\n\n6. Yet it does not appear, that our Lord designed this caution, only\nor chiefly for the children of God: but rather for the children of the\nworld, for the men who know not God. These cannot but hear of those,\nwho are not of the world, who follow after the religion above described:\nwho endeavour to be humble, serious, gentle, merciful and pure in heart;\nwho earnestly desire such measures of these holy tempers, as they have\nnot yet attained: and wait for them in doing all good to all men, and\npatiently suffering evil. Whoever go but thus far, cannot be hid, no\nmore than _a city set upon a hill_. And why do not those, who _see_\ntheir _good works, glorify their Father which is in heaven_? What\nexcuse have they, for not treading in their steps? For not imitating\ntheir example, and being followers of them, as they are also of Christ?\nWhy, in order to provide an excuse for themselves, they condemn those\nwhom they ought to imitate. They spend their time in finding out their\nneighbour\u2019s faults, instead of amending their own. They are so busied\nabout others going out of the way, that themselves never come into it\nat all: at least, never get forward, never go beyond a poor dead form\nof godliness without the power.\n\n7. It is to these more especially that our Lord says, _Why beholdest\nthou the mote that is in thy brother\u2019s eye_, the infirmities, the\nmistakes, the imprudence, the weakness of the children of God; _but\nconsiderest not the beam that is in thine own eye_? Thou considerest\nnot the damnable impenitence, the satanic pride, the accursed self-will,\nthe idolatrous love of the world, which are in thyself, and which make\nthy whole life an abomination to the Lord. Above all, with what supine\ncarelessness and indifference art thou dancing over the mouth of hell?\nAnd _how then_, with what grace, with what decency or modesty, _wilt\nthou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye_,\nthe excess of zeal for God, the extreme self-denial, the too great\ndisengagement from worldly cares and employments, the desire to be day\nand night in prayer, or hearing the words of eternal life? _And behold\na beam is in thine own eye!_ not a mote, like one of these. _Thou\nhypocrite!_ Who pretendest to care for others and hast no care for thy\nown soul! Who makest a show of zeal for the cause of God, when in truth\nthou neither lovest nor fearest him! _First cast out the beam out of\nthine own eye._ Cast out the beam of impenitence. Know thyself. See and\nfeel thyself a sinner. Feel, that thy inward parts are very wickedness,\nthat thou art altogether corrupt and abominable, and that the wrath of\nGod abideth on thee. Cast out the beam of pride. Abhor thyself. Sink\ndown as in dust and ashes. Be more and more little and mean, and base\nand vile in thine own eyes. Cast out the beam of self-will. Learn what\nthat meaneth, _If any man will come after me, let him renounce himself_.\nDeny thyself and take up thy cross daily. Let thy whole soul cry out,\n_I came down from heaven_ (for so thou didst, thou never-dying spirit,\nwhether thou knowest it or no) _not to do my own will, but the will\nof him that sent me_. Cast out the beam of love of the world. Love not\nthe world, neither the things of the world. Be thou crucified unto the\nworld, and the world crucified unto thee. Only _use_ the world, but\n_enjoy_ God. Seek all thy happiness in him. Above all, cast out the\ngrand beam, that supine carelessness and indifference. Deeply consider,\nthat _one thing is needful_, the one thing which thou hast scarce\never thought of. Know and feel, that thou art a poor, vile, guilty\nworm, quivering over the great gulph! What art thou? A sinner born\nto die: a leaf driven before the wind: a vapour ready to vanish away:\njust appearing, and then scattered into air, to be no more seen! See\nthis, _And then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy\nbrother\u2019s eye_. Then, if thou hast leisure from the concerns of thy own\nsoul, thou shalt know how to correct thy brother also.\n\n8. But what is properly the meaning of this word, _Judge not_? What\nis the _judging_ which is here forbidden? It is not the same as\nevil-speaking, altho\u2019 it is frequently joined therewith. Evil-speaking,\nis the relating any thing that is evil, concerning an absent person:\nwhereas _judging_ may indifferently refer, either to the absent or\nthe present. Neither does it necessarily imply the speaking at all,\nbut only the _thinking evil_ of another. Not that all kind of thinking\nevil of others, is that _judging_ which our Lord condemns. If I see\none commit robbery or murder, or hear him blaspheme the name of God,\nI cannot refrain from thinking ill of the robber or murderer. Yet this\nis not evil _judging_: there is no sin in this, nor any thing contrary\nto tender affection.\n\n9. The thinking of another, in a manner that is contrary to love, is\nthat _judging_ which is here condemned. And this may be of various\nkinds. For, first, we may think another to blame when he is not. We may\nlay to his charge (at least in our own mind) the things of which he is\nnot guilty: the words which he has never spoke, or the actions which\nhe has never done. Or we may think his _manner_ of acting was wrong,\naltho\u2019 in reality it was not. And even where nothing can justly be\nblamed, either in the thing itself, or in the manner of doing it, we\nmay suppose, his _intention_ was not good, and so condemn him on that\nground; at the same time that he who searches the heart, sees his\nsimplicity and godly sincerity.\n\n10. But we may not only fall into the sin of _judging_, by condemning\nthe innocent, but also, secondly, by condemning the guilty, in a higher\ndegree than he deserves. This species of judging is likewise an offence\nagainst justice as well as mercy: and yet such an offence as nothing\ncan secure us from, but the strongest and tenderest affection. Without\nthis, we readily suppose one who is acknowledged to be in fault, to be\nmore in fault than he really is. We undervalue whatever good is found\nin him. Nay, we are not easily induced to believe, that any thing good\ncan remain in him, in whom we have found any thing that is evil.\n\n11. All this shews a manifest want of that love, which \u03bf\u1f51 \u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\n\u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03cc\u03bd\u00b7 _thinketh no evil_: which never draws an unjust or unkind\nconclusion, from any premisses whatsoever. Love will not infer, from\na person\u2019s falling once into an act of open sin, that he is accustomed\nso to do, that he is habitually guilty of it. And if he was habitually\nguilty once, love does not conclude, he is so still: much less, that\nif he is now guilty of this, therefore he is guilty of other sins also.\nThese evil reasonings all pertain to that sinful _judging_, which our\nLord here guards us against: and which we are in the highest degree\nconcerned to avoid, if we love either God or our own souls.\n\n12. But supposing we do not condemn the innocent, neither the guilty\nany farther than they deserve: still we may not be altogether clear of\nthe snare. For there is a third sort of sinful _judging_, which is the\ncondemning any person at all where there is not a sufficient evidence.\nAnd be the facts we suppose ever so true, yet that does not acquit us.\nFor they ought not to have been supposed but proved, and till they were,\nwe ought to have formed no judgment. I say, till they were: for neither\nare we excused, altho\u2019 the facts admit of ever so strong proof, unless\nthat proof be produced before we pass sentence, and compared with the\nevidence on the other side. Nor can we be excused, if ever we pass\na full sentence, before the accused has spoken for himself. Even a\nJew might teach us this, as a mere lesson of justice abstracted from\nmercy and brotherly love. _Doth our law_, says _Nicodemus, judge any\nman before it hear him and know what he doth? John_ xvii. 51. Yea, a\nHeathen could reply, when the chief of the Jewish nation desired to\nhave judgment against his prisoner, _It is not the manner of the Romans\nto_ judge _any man, before he that is accused have the accusers face to\nface, and have licence to answer for himself, concerning the crime laid\nagainst him_.\n\n13. Indeed we could not easily fall into sinful _judging_, were we\nonly to observe that rule, which [116]another of those Heathen _Romans_\naffirms to have been the measure of his own practice. \u201cI am so far,\nsays he, from lightly believing every man\u2019s, or any man\u2019s evidence\nagainst another, that I do not easily or immediately believe a man\u2019s\nevidence against himself. I always allow him second thoughts, and many\ntimes council too.\u201d Go thou who art called a Christian, and do likewise,\nlest the Heathen rise and condemn thee in that day.\n\n14. But how rarely should we condemn or judge one another, at least,\nhow soon would that evil be remedied, were we to walk by that clear\nand express rule, which our Lord himself has taught us? _If thy brother\nshall trespass against thee_, (or if thou hear, or believe that he hath)\n_go and tell him of his fault, between him and thee alone_. This is the\nfirst step thou art to take. _But if he will not hear, take with thee\none or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses, every\nword may be established._ This is the second step. _If he neglect to\nhear them, tell it unto the church_; either to the overseers thereof,\nor to the whole congregation. Thou hast then done thy part. Then think\nof it no more, but commend the whole to God.\n\n15. But supposing thou hast, by the grace of God, _cast the beam out of\nthine own eye_, and dost now _clearly see the mote or the beam which is\nin thy brother\u2019s eye_, yet beware thou dost not receive hurt thyself,\nby endeavouring to help him. Still _give not that which is holy unto\ndogs_. Do not lightly account any to be of this number. But if it\nevidently appear, that they deserve the title, then cast ye not _your\npearls before swine_. Beware of that zeal which is not according to\nknowledge. For this is another great hindrance in their way, who would\nbe _perfect as_ their _heavenly Father is perfect_. They who desire\nthis, cannot but desire that all mankind should partake of the common\nblessing. And when we ourselves first partake of the heavenly gift,\nthe divine _evidence of things not seen_, we wonder, that all mankind\ndo not see, the things which we see so plainly, and make no doubt at\nall but we shall open the eyes of all we have any intercourse with.\nHence we are for attacking all we meet without delay, and constraining\nthem to see, whether they will or no. And by the ill success of this\nintemperate zeal, we often suffer in our own souls: to prevent this\nspending our strength in vain, our Lord adds this needful caution\n(needful to all, but more especially to those who are now warm in their\nfirst love:) _Give not that which is holy unto dogs, neither cast ye\nyour pearls before swine: lest they trample them under foot, and turn\nagain and rent you._\n\n16. _Give not that which is holy unto dogs._ Beware of thinking, that\nany deserve this appellation, till there is full and incontestable\nproof, such as you can no longer resist. But when it is clearly and\nindisputably proved, that they are unholy and wicked men, not only\nstrangers to, but enemies to God, to all righteousness and true\nholiness: _give not that which is holy_, \u03c4\u1f78 \u1f05\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd, the holy thing,\nemphatically so called, unto these. The holy, the peculiar doctrines\nof the gospel, such as were _hid from the ages and generations_ of old,\nand are now made known to us, only by the revelation of Jesus Christ,\nand the inspiration of his holy Spirit; are not to be prostituted unto\nthese men, who know not if there be any Holy Ghost. Not indeed that\nthe ambassadors of Christ can refrain, from declaring them in the great\ncongregation, wherein some of these may probably be. We must speak,\nwhether men will hear or whether they will forbear. But this is not the\ncase with private Christians. They do not bear that awful character:\nnor are they under any manner of obligation, to force these great\nand glorious truths, on them who contradict and blaspheme, who have\na rooted enmity against them. Nay, they ought not so to do, but rather\nto lead them, as they are able to bear. Do not begin a discourse with\nthese, upon remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. But\ntalk with them in their own manner, and upon their own principles. With\nthe rational, honourable, unjust epicure, _reason of righteousness,\ntemperance, and judgment to come_. This is the most probable way\nto make _Felix tremble_. Reserve higher subjects for men of higher\nattainments.\n\n17. _Neither cast ye your pearls before swine._ Be very unwilling to\npass this judgment on any man. But if the fact be plain and undeniable,\nif it is clear, beyond all dispute, if the swine do not endeavour\nto disguise themselves, but rather glory in their shame, making no\npretence to purity either of heart or life, but working all uncleanness\nwith greediness: then _cast_ not _ye your pearls before_ them. Talk\nnot to them of the mysteries of the kingdom: of the things _which eye\nhath not seen, nor ear heard_; which of consequence, as they have no\nother inlets of knowledge, no spiritual senses, it cannot enter into\ntheir hearts to conceive. Tell not them of the _exceeding great and\nprecious promises_, which God hath given us, in the Son of his love.\nWhat conception can they have, of being _made partakers of the divine\nnature_, who do not even desire to _escape the corruption that is in\nthe world thro\u2019 lust_? Just as much knowledge as swine have of pearls,\nand as much relish as they have for them, so much relish have they\nfor the deep things of God, so much knowledge of the mysteries of\nthe gospel, who are immersed in the mire of this world, in worldly\npleasures, desires and cares. _O cast not_ those _pearls before_ these,\n_lest they trample them under their feet_, lest they utterly despise\nwhat they cannot understand, and speak evil of the things which they\nknow not. Nay, \u2019tis probable, this would not be the only inconvenience\nwhich would follow. It would not be strange, if they were, according\nto their nature, to _turn again, and rent you_: if they were to return\nyou evil for good, cursing for blessing, and hatred for your good-will.\nSuch is the enmity of the carnal mind against God and all the things\nof God. Such the treatment you are to expect from these, if you offer\nthem the unpardonable affront, of endeavouring to save their souls from\ndeath, to pluck them as brands out of the burning!\n\n18. And yet you need not utterly despair even of these, who for the\npresent _turn again and rent you_. For if all your arguments and\npersuasives fail, there is yet another remedy left; and one that is\nfrequently found effectual, when no other method avails. This is prayer.\nTherefore whatever you desire or want, either for others or for your\nown soul, _Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and ye shall find:\nknock, and it shall be opened unto you_. The neglect of this is a third\ngrand hindrance of holiness. Still we _have not, because we ask not_.\nO how meek and gentle, how lowly in heart, how full of love both to God\nand man might ye have been at this day, if you had only asked? If you\nhad _continued instant in prayer_! Therefore now, at least, _Ask, and\nit shall be given unto you. Ask_, that ye may throughly experience and\nperfectly practise the whole of that religion, which our Lord has here\nso beautifully described. _It shall_ then _be given you_, to be holy as\nhe is holy, both in heart and in all manner of conversation. _Seek_, in\nthe way he hath ordained, in searching the scriptures, in hearing his\nword, in meditating thereon, in fasting, in partaking of the supper of\nthe Lord, and surely _ye shall find_. Ye shall find that pearl of great\nprice, that faith which overcometh the world, that peace which the\nworld cannot give, that love which is the earnest of your inheritance.\n_Knock_: continue in prayer, and in every other way of the Lord. Be not\nweary or faint in your mind. Press on to the mark. Take no denial. Let\nhim not go until he bless you. And the door of mercy, of holiness, of\nheaven _shall be opened unto you_.\n\n19. It is in compassion to the hardness of our hearts, so unready to\nbelieve the goodness of God, that our Lord is pleased to enlarge upon\nthis head, and to repeat and confirm what he hath spoken. _For every\none_, saith he, _that asketh, receiveth_: so that none need come short\nof the blessing. _And he that seeketh_, even every one that seeketh,\n_findeth_, the love and the image of God; _and to him that knocketh_,\nto every one that knocketh, the gate of righteousness shall be opened.\nSo that here is no room for any to be discouraged, as tho\u2019 they might\nask or seek or knock in vain. Only remember, _always to pray_, to seek,\nto knock _and not to be faint_. And then the promise standeth sure. It\nis firm as the pillars of heaven. Yea, more firm; for heaven and earth\nshall pass away: but his word shall not pass away.\n\n20. To cut off every pretence for unbelief, our blessed Lord, in the\nfollowing verses, illustrates yet farther what he had said, by an\nappeal to what passes in our own breasts. _What man_, saith he, _is\nthere of_ you, _who if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone_?\nWill even natural affection permit you to refuse the reasonable request\nof one you love? _Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?_\nWill he give him hurtful, instead of profitable things? So that even\nfrom what you feel and do yourselves, you may receive the fullest\nassurance, as, on the one hand, that no ill effect, can possibly attend\nyour asking, so on the other, that it will be attended with that good\neffect, a full supply of all your wants. For _if ye being evil know\nhow to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your\nFather which is in heaven_, who is pure, unmixt, essential goodness,\n_give good things to them that ask him_? Or, (as he expresses it on\nanother occasion) _give the Holy Ghost to them that ask him_? In him\nare included all good things; all wisdom, peace, joy, love: the whole\ntreasures of holiness and happiness: all that God hath prepared for\nthem that love him.\n\n21. But that your prayer may have its full weight with God, see that\nye be in charity with all men. For otherwise, it is more likely to\nbring a curse than a blessing on your own head: nor can you expect,\nto receive any blessing from God, while you have not charity towards\nyour neighbour. Therefore let this hindrance be removed without delay.\nConfirm your love towards one another and towards all men. And love\nthem, not in word only, but in deed and in truth. _Therefore all things\nwhatsoever ye would, that men should do to you, do ye even so unto them:\nfor this is the law and the prophets._\n\n22. This is that royal law, that golden rule of mercy as well as\njustice, which even the Heathen emperor caused to be written, over\nthe gate of his palace: a rule, which many believe to be naturally\nengraved on the mind of every one that comes into the world. And thus\nmuch is certain, that it commends itself, as soon as heard, to every\nman\u2019s conscience and understanding: insomuch, that no man can knowingly\noffend against it, without carrying his condemnation in his own breast.\n\n23. _This is the law and the prophets._ \u2666Whatsoever is written in that\nlaw which God of old revealed to mankind; and whatsoever precepts God\nhas given by _his holy prophets, which have been since the world began_,\nthey are all summed up in these few words, they are all contained in\nthis short direction. And this rightly understood comprizes the whole\nof that religion, which our Lord came to establish upon earth.\n\n24. It may be understood, either in a positive or negative sense. If\nunderstood in a negative sense, the meaning is, \u201cWhatever ye would not\nthat men should do to you, do not ye unto them.\u201d Here is a plain rule,\nalways ready at hand, always easy to be applied. In all cases relating\nto your neighbour, make his case your own. Suppose the circumstances to\nbe changed, and yourself to be just as he is now. And then beware that\nyou indulge no temper or thought, that no word pass out of your lips,\nthat you take no step which you should have condemned in him, upon such\na change of circumstances. If understood in a direct and positive sense,\nthe plain meaning of it is, \u201cWhatsoever you could reasonably desire\nof him, supposing yourself to be in his circumstance, that do, to the\nuttermost of your power, to every child of man.\u201d\n\n25. To apply this in one or two obvious instances. It is clear to\nevery man\u2019s own conscience, we would not that others should _judge_\nus, should causelesly or lightly think evil of us. Much less would we\nthat any should speak evil of us, should publish our real faults or\ninfirmities. Apply this to yourself. Do not unto another what you would\nnot he should do unto you; and you will never more judge your neighbour,\nnever causelesly or lightly think evil of any one. Much less will you\nspeak evil: you will never mention even the real fault of an absent\nperson, unless so far as you are convinced, it is absolutely needful,\nfor the good of other souls.\n\n26. Again: we would that all men should love and esteem us, and\nbehave towards us, according to justice, mercy and truth. And we may\nreasonably desire, that they should do us all the good they can do,\nwithout injuring themselves: yea, that in outward things, (according to\nthe known rule) their superfluities should give way to our conveniences,\ntheir conveniencies to our necessities, and their necessities to our\nextremities. Now then let us walk by the same rule: let us do unto\nall, as we would they should do to us. Let us love and honour all men.\nLet justice, mercy and truth govern all our minds and actions. Let our\nsuperfluities give way to our neighbour\u2019s conveniencies: (and who then\nwill have any superfluities left?) Our conveniencies to our neighbour\u2019s\nnecessities, our necessities to his extremities.\n\n27. This is pure and genuine morality. This do and thou shalt live. _As\nmany as walk by this rule, peace be to them and mercy_: for they are\n_the Israel of God_. But then be it observed, none can walk by this\nrule, (nor ever did from the beginning of the world) none can love his\nneighbour as himself, unless he first love God. And none can love God,\nunless he believe in Christ, unless he have redemption thro\u2019 his blood,\nand the Spirit of God bearing witness with his spirit, that he is a\nchild of God. Faith therefore is still the root of all, of present as\nwell as future salvation. Still we must say to every sinner, Believe in\nthe Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved. Thou shalt be saved now,\nthou mayst be saved for ever; saved on earth, that thou mayst be saved\nin heaven. Believe in him and thy faith will work by love. Thou wilt\nlove the Lord thy God, because he hath loved thee: thou wilt love thy\nneighbour as thyself. And then it will be thy glory and joy, to exert\nand increase this love, not barely by abstaining from what is contrary\nthereto, from every unkind thought, word and action, but by shewing all\nthat kindness to every man, which thou wouldst he should shew unto thee.\n\n\n THE END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.\n\n\n\n\n Footnotes.\n\n\n 1 \u2012 Preached at St. Mary\u2019s, Oxford, before the University, on\n January 1, 1733.\n\n 2 \u2012 N. B. The following part of this paragraph is now added to\n the sermon formerly preached.\n\n 3 \u2012 Gal. iii. 26.\n\n 4 \u2012 John i. 12, 13.\n\n 5 \u2012 1 John v. 1.\n\n 6 \u2012 Rom. i. 6, &c.\n\n 7 \u2012 1 John iii. 1, &c.\n\n 8 \u2012 Ver. 9.\n\n 9 \u2012 Ver. 7.\n\n 10 \u2012 Ver. 18.\n\n 11 \u2012 Rom. v. 1.\n\n 12 \u2012 John xiv. 27.\n\n 13 \u2012 Ch. xvi. 33.\n\n 14 \u2012 1 Pet. i. 3.\n\n 15 \u2012 Rom. viii. 16, 17.\n\n 16 \u2012 John xvi. 22.\n\n 17 \u2012 Rom. v. 11.\n\n 18 \u2012 1 Pet. i. 5, &c.\n\n 19 \u2012 Rev. xxi. 3, 4.\n\n 20 \u2012 Rom. v. 5.\n\n 21 \u2012 Gal. iv. 8.\n\n 22 \u2012 1 John v. 15.\n\n 23 \u2012 Psal. lxiii. 5.\n\n 24 \u2012 1 John v. 1.\n\n 25 \u2012 Cant. ii. 16.\n\n 26 \u2012 Psal. xlv. 2.\n\n 27 \u2012 1 John iii. 16.\n\n 28 \u2012 Ver. 14.\n\n 29 \u2012 Ch. iv. 13.\n\n 30 \u2012 1 John iv. 7.\n\n 31 \u2012 1 John v. 3.\n\n 32 \u2012 1 John iii. 15.\n\n 33 \u2012 Matt. v. 28.\n\n 34 \u2012 James iv. 4.\n\n 35 \u2012 Psal. xxiii. 1, &c.\n\n 36 \u2012 Psal. xviii. 1.\n\n 37 \u2012 Psal. xxxiv. 1.\n\n 38 \u2012 Psal. cxviii. 28.\n\n 39 \u2012 Acts iv. 36, 37.\n\n 40 \u2012 Ch. xi. 29.\n\n 41 \u2012 Ch. xiii. 1, 2, 4.\n\n 42 \u2012 Ch. xv. 35, 38, 39.\n\n 43 \u2012 Acts xi. 28.\n\n 44 \u2012 Gal. ii. 11, &c.\n\n 45 \u2012 2 Sam. xi. 2.\n\n 46 \u2012 James i. 14.\n\n 47 \u2012 Matt. iv. 23.\n\n 48 \u2012 Ver. 12.\n\n 49 \u2012 Ver. 25.\n\n 50 \u2012 Matt. v. 1, &c.\n\n 51 \u2012 Deut. xviii. 19.\n\n 52 \u2012 Acts iii. 23.\n\n 53 \u2012 Rom. i. 18, &c.\n\n 54 \u2012 Rom. viii. 35, 38, 39.\n\n 55 \u2012 John xvi. 19\u201222.\n\n 56 \u2012 Exod. xxxii. 31, 32.\n\n 57 \u2012 Rom. ix. 3.\n\n 58 \u2012 Acts xv. 39.\n\n 59 \u2012 Ver. 27.\n\n 60 \u2012 Ver. 28.\n\n 61 \u2012 Ver. 33.\n\n 62 \u2012 Ver. 34.\n\n 63 \u2012 Ver. 35.\n\n 64 \u2012 Ver. 36.\n\n 65 \u2012 Ver. 37.\n\n 66 \u2012 Matt. xxvi. 63. 64.\n\n 67 \u2012 Heb. vi. 17.\n\n 68 \u2012 Rom. i. 9.\n\n 69 \u2012 2 Cor. i. 23.\n\n 70 \u2012 Phil. i. 8.\n\n 71 \u2012 Heb. vi. 16.\n\n 72 \u2012 Gal. iv. 29.\n\n 73 \u2012 1 John iii. 13.\n\n 74 \u2012 John xv. 18, &c.\n\n 75 \u2012 Luke xii. 51.\n\n 76 \u2012 Ver. 38, &c.\n\n 77 \u2012 Ver. 43, &c.\n\n 78 \u2012 Luke xvii. 3.\n\n 79 \u2012 Matt. xviii. 21.\n\n 80 \u2012 Ver. 47.\n\n 81 \u2012 Ver. 48.\n\n 82 \u2012 Ibid.\n\n 83 \u2012 1 Cor. v. 9.\n\n 84 \u2012 Ver. 11.\n\n 85 \u2012 2 Thess. iii. 15.\n\n 86 \u2012 John xv. 2, 5, 6.\n\n 87 \u2012 Heb. vi. 4, &c.\n\n 88 \u2012 1 Cor. 14. 1.\n\n 89 \u2012 1 Cor. 12. 31.\n\n 90 \u2012 Acts xv. 6.\n\n 91 \u2012 Acts xv. 10.\n\n 92 \u2012 Ver. 24.\n\n 93 \u2012 Acts xxiii. 6.\n\n 94 \u2012 Chap. xxvi. 5.\n\n 95 \u2012 Acts xxiv. 16.\n\n 96 \u2012 Chap. xxiii. 1.\n\n 97 \u2012 Luke xi. 2.\n\n 98 \u2012 Chap. i. 12, 13.\n\n 99 \u2012 1 Kings xviii. 28.\n\n 100 \u2012 Daniel iv. 5, &c.\n\n 101 \u2012 Lev. xxiii. 26, &c.\n\n 102 \u2012 Zech. viii. 19.\n\n 103 \u2012 2 Chron. xx. 1, 3.\n\n 104 \u2012 Jer. xxxvi. 9.\n\n 105 \u2012 1 Sam. xxviii. 15, 20.\n\n 106 \u2012 Acts xxvii. 33.\n\n 107 \u2012 2 Sam. i. 12.\n\n 108 \u2012 Judg. xx. 26, &c.\n\n 109 \u2012 1 Sam. vii. 6, &c.\n\n 110 \u2012 Ezra viii. 21.\n\n 111 \u2012 Nehem. i. 4, 11.\n\n 112 \u2012 Matt. xvii. 19, &c.\n\n 113 \u2012 Joel ii. 12, &c.\n\n 114 \u2012 Acts x. 4, &c.\n\n 115 \u2012 Isaiah lviii. 6, &c.\n\n 116 \u2012 Seneca.\n\n\n\n\n Transcriber\u2019s Notes.\n\n\n The following corrections have been made in the text:\n\n Page TOC:\n \u2012 \u2018XVIII\u2019 replaced with \u2018XVII\u2019 and omitted Sermon XVIII added\n (SERMON XVII.)\n\n Page 10:\n Sentence starting: He is neither discouraged by....\n \u2012 \u2018dispise\u2019 replaced with \u2018despise\u2019\n (_despise the riches of his goodness_)\n\n Page 22:\n Sentence starting: To them gave he power....\n \u2012 \u2018\u1f10\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03bd\u00b7\u2019 replaced with \u2018\u1f10\u03be\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03bd\u00b7\u2019\n (\u1f10\u03be\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1\u03bd\u00b7 right or privilege, it might rather be translated)\n\n Page 25:\n Sentence starting: Especially when the comment....\n \u2012 \u2018\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03bf\u03b4\u03b5\u03af\u03bc\u2019 replaced with \u2018\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03bf\u03b4\u03b5\u03af\u03b1\u2019\n (\u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03bf\u03b4\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 \u03c0\u03bb\u03ac\u03bd\u03b7\u03c2)\n\n Page 28:\n Sentence starting: \u1f18\u03bb\u03c0\u03af\u03b4\u03b1 \u03b6\u1ff6\u03c3\u03b1\u03bd, A _lively_ or _living_ hope,...\n \u2012 \u2018brethern\u2019 replaced with \u2018brethren\u2019\n (truly say to his brethren)\n\n Page 33:\n Sentence starting: The necessary fruit of this....\n \u2012 \u2018presecuting\u2019 replaced with \u2018persecuting\u2019\n (_despitefully using and persecuting us_:)\n\n Page 35:\n Sentence starting: It is, so to _hope_ in God....\n \u2012 \u2018though\u2019 replaced with \u2018through\u2019\n (through the Son of his love)\n\n Page 36:\n Sentence starting: To your own heart....\n \u2012 \u2018me\u2019 replaced with \u2018be\u2019\n (let the appeal be made)\n\n Page 92:\n Sentence starting: holy Spirit. His evil works are now....\n \u2012 \u2018his\u2019 replaced with \u2018is\u2019\n (more than he is able)\n\n Page 109:\n Sentence starting: 6. \u2019Tis evident, this divine....\n \u2012 \u20189\u2019 replaced with \u20186\u2019\n (6. \u2019Tis evident, this divine)\n\n Page 114:\n Sentence starting: But there seems to be....\n \u2012 \u2018Revalation\u2019 replaced with \u2018Revelation\u2019\n (20th chapter of the _Revelation_)\n\n Page 115:\n Sentence starting: In like manner this hunger....\n \u2012 \u2018appetities\u2019 replaced with \u2018appetites\u2019\n (of all our spiritual appetites)\n\n Page 136:\n Sentence starting: Therefore _if thy right eye....\n \u2012 \u2018they\u2019 replaced with \u2018thy\u2019\n (that one of thy members)\n\n Page 153:\n Sentence starting: Then he sold them....\n \u2012 \u2018grevious\u2019 replaced with \u2018grievous\u2019\n (heal the grievous backslidings)\n\n Page 159:\n Sentence starting: 4. If you can do nothing more....\n \u2012 \u2018despightfully\u2019 replaced with \u2018despitefully\u2019\n (that despitefully use you)\n\n Page 163:\n Sentence starting: We may say of this....\n \u2012 \u2018\u03b1\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03b4\u03ac\u03be\u03b7\u03b5\u2019 replaced with \u2018\u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03b4\u03ac\u03be\u03b7\u03c2\u2019\n (\u1f00\u03c0\u03b1\u03ac\u03b3\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03b4\u03ac\u03be\u03b7\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u00b7)\n\n Page 177:\n Sentence starting: One might imagine,...\n \u2012 \u2018were\u2019 replaced with \u2018where\u2019\n (where both scripture and)\n\n Page 186:\n Sentence starting: In the morning sow thy seed....\n \u2012 \u2018ix\u2019 replaced with \u2018xi\u2019\n (Eccles. xi. 6.)\n\n Page 205:\n Sentence starting: Neither were they _lawyers_....\n \u2012 \u2018rendred\u2019 replaced with \u2018rendered\u2019\n (is so rendered in our)\n\n Page 228:\n Sentence starting: So that the end of your praying....\n \u2012 \u2018dependance\u2019 replaced with \u2018dependence\u2019\n (your continual dependence on him)\n\n Page 232:\n Sentence starting: Whose eye pervades the whole....\n \u2012 \u2018\u03b1\u1f30\u1ff6\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2\u2019 replaced with \u2018\u03b1\u1f30\u1ff6\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2\u2019\n (but \u1f00\u03c0\u1fbd \u03b1\u1f30\u1ff6\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2\u00b7 from all eternity)\n\n Page 235:\n Sentence starting: For this also we pray....\n \u2012 \u2018kingdem\u2019 replaced with \u2018kingdom\u2019\n (_Thy kingdom come_:)\n\n Page 257:\n Sentence starting: He would be impatient....\n \u2012 \u2018he\u2019 replaced with \u2018be\u2019\n (He would be impatient of any)\n\n Page 268:\n Sentence starting: Can you be so hardy....\n \u2012 \u2018Jehoshaphet\u2019 replaced with \u2018Jehoshaphat\u2019\n (of _Jehoshaphat_, _Ezra_)\n\n Page 300:\n Sentence starting: I answer, if you threw....\n \u2012 \u2018then thay\u2019 replaced with \u2018than they\u2019\n (better bestowed than they are now)\n\n Page 320:\n Sentence starting: He well knows, that there....\n \u2012 duplicated word removed \u2018of\u2019\n (the due performance of those)\n Sentence starting: Yea, it is good and acceptable....\n \u2012 \u2018it\u2019 replaced with \u2018is\u2019\n (it is good and acceptable)\n\n Page 351:\n Sentence starting: Whatsoever is written....\n \u2012 \u2018Whatsosoever\u2019 replaced with \u2018Whatsoever\u2019\n (Whatsoever is written in that law)","title":"The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 02 (of 32)","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":88321}