c. That Thief shall dye Deut. xxiv 7. The oppression of an hired Servant is indeed forbidden but then this is to be understood of that Servant onely who was an Israelite or Proselyte v. 14. III. Agreeably hereunto have the Jewish Doctors and Casuists taught in their books Bava Kama c. 4. §. 3. cum Rambam Maimon H. Deoth c. 6. §. 3. Bechai in legem fol. 78. col 3. They allow kindness due to one another but they have advanced in their Writings such propositions as have plainly shewn they have bin little concerned for the Lives or Estates of those of another Nation or Religion And no wonder when neighbour signifies no more with them than an Israelite and stranger no more than a Proselyte For what-ever kindness they are put upon towards their neighbours and towards strangers will not be thought due to men of another Nation and Religion These men must not expect kindness 'T will be well if they meet with common justice from them IV. The Practice of the Jews confirms this their sense of the Law of Moses They were very morose towards strangers and particularly towards the Samaritans who were placed in their neighbourhood John iv 9. They were Enemies to those of another Nation and Religion They refused to shew common civilities to them and those offices which we judge due to humanity where-ever we meet with it This surly disposition of theirs was taken notice of by Heathen Writers Juven Non monstrare vias eadem nisi sacra colenti Quaesitum ad fontem Solos deducere Verpos They would not direct a Traveller of another Nation or Religion in his way nor shew him common civilities Tacitus Histor l. v. takes notice of their Enmity and Hatred towards all Strangers Et quia apud ipsos fides obstinata misericordia in promptu SED ADVERSUS OMNES ALIOS HOSTILE ODIUM This is sufficient to justifie our Blessed Saviour and may also be of use to the better understanding the Law of Moses The Jews we see were obliged to destroy some people and for the kindness to be shewed it was to their Brethren i. e. Men of their own Nation or Religion It cannot be denied that there are in the Laws of Moses many Precepts of Mercy and Beneficence that speak a mercifull regard to the poor and miserable and commend Humanity and Good-will This Philo observes and calls it Philanthropy and the Cosin the Sister and Twin of Godliness That Author hath written a book on that Subject and observes that it was much commended in the Law of Moses And certain it is that that Law did oblige the Jews to kindness to strangers it did forbid oppression and malice It did provide for the Poor the Widow and Fatherless For Servants and Labourers They might not detain the wages of the hireling nor keep the poor man's garment as a pledge nor take the mill-stone as such There were great provisions for the needy from the Laws concerning the forgotten sheaf the gleaning the corner of the Field and remainder of the Vineyard Deut. xv 7. xxiv 19. The Law of the Third years Tithe of the Sabbatical Year and that of Jubilee were very mercifull provisions also for the necessitous Several other Laws there were which tended to preserve Friendship and Good-will among each other The appearing of the several Tribes three times a year at Jerusalem as Josephus observes Antiq. l. iv c. 8. and feasting together preserved Friendship And that Law which required men not to keep by them the flesh of their Peace-offerings Lev. vij 15,16 but to eat it in such a time constrained them to Hospitality and Bounty as one of the Ancients hath well observed Theodoret in Levit. qu. vj. But all that hath bin said amounts to no more than this That they were obliged to be kind to one another and were at the same time obliged to be in a state of War and Enmity with other people Their neighbour and the stranger took in the Israelite and Proselyte but did not reach to all the race of mankind Thus we see how this matter stood under the Law of Moses Ye have heard that it hath bin said Thou shalt love thy neighbour and hate c. II. I proceed now to consider what Jesus requires of his Followers But I say unto you Love your Enemies bless them that curse you do good to them that bate you and pray for them that despitefully use you and persecute you I. Before I proceed any farther I cannot but observe the Extent of a Christian's Charity It is directed to our Enemies to them that curse that hate us that despitefully use and persecute us That is to the whole race of mankind To those who are not of our Religion of our Kindred or our Nation The Jewish kindness was confined and limited Their Charity began and ended at home He was neighbour to the Jew who was himself a Jew as ye have heard But our Saviour hath enlarged our Charity and Kindness Every other man is the Christian's neighbour according to the Doctrin of Jesus This appears from the Answer He gave to the Question of the Lawyer He said unto Jesus being willing to justifie himself Luk. x. 29. Who is my neighbour Our Saviour's answer settles this matter and extends the notion of it as far as to every other man St. Paul who well understood the Christian Doctrin teacheth the same Doctrin Rom. xiij 8,9 He interprets 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. Neighbour by every other man This is not the Jewish indeed but the Christian notion of it 'T is a mean thing to love our friends and relations our own tribe and party A Publican can do it and deserves no praise on that account He would be a monster that should not do this The Christian Charity extends to the whole race of mankind And this is that Charity that is truly Divine That our Holy Religion commends and this Benignity and Philanthropy adorns our Holy Institution To love none but our Tribe and Sect is an argument of a stingy and narrow Soul We must love our Neighbour for God's sake and because he bears his Image And as this is an excellent Principle so it extends our Charity to the whole race of mankind For every man hath something of the Image of God But 't is but reasonable to love him for our own sakes as he shares with us in the Common nature And this Consideration obligeth us to this Universal Kindness The Jews Sanedr c. 4. §. 5. inquire into the reasons why God made but one man to be the Common parent of mankind and did not Create some number of men to be the several Heads of distinct Families I know no better reason than this that we should be kindly affected to one another as Coming all from the same root and stock Besides what hath bin said 'T is certain that Jesus took our nature upon him He Hebr.
and Truth is oppressed We may lawfully appeal to God by War and consequently pray to him for success and desire him to abate the Pride and confound the Devices of the Common Enemy This does not clash at all with the Precept in my Text. For in this case the Enemies are not considered as our Enemies so much as the Common Enemies of God and of his Truth VI. After all if we consider the places singly and separately we shall not find them import so much harm as may be supposed at the first sight That our Enemies should be ashamed and confounded that their way should be dark and slippery in short comes but to thus much that they may be disappointed in their Evil attempts I have not time to descend to particulars Thus much is certain that some places sound harsh and appear very severely in our Version when they do not so in the Original I will give an instance or two Psal lv 16. Let death come hastily upon them and let them go down quick into Hell Here the word we render Hell commonly signifies no more but the Grave or place of the dead And he that looks on the words as they lye in the Hebrew can infer no more than this that the Psalmist predicts the sudden death of men in whose dwellings is wickedness There is nothing farther that the words do import Again where we read of the good man's seeing his desire upon his Enemies The expression is indeed Elliptical but his desire is added to supply the Ellipsis 't is not in the Original Text. Psal cxij. 8. cxviij 7. I shall now proceed to make some application of what hath bin said I. If we stand obliged by the Law of Jesus to love our Enemies c. And Jesus hath in this Law obliged us to a greater extent and degree of Charity and Kindness than the Letter of the Law of Moses How inexcusable are those men who instead of obeying these Precepts of Jesus come short of what Moses requited These men certainly deserve reproof and are very unworthy of the title of Christians There are two sorts of these First Those who are so far from loving their Enemies that they do not love one another They are so far from coming up to the pitch of Charity which Jesus requires that they come short of the lowest measure which was taught by Moses By the Law of Moses the Jews were obliged to love those of their own Nation and Religion tho' otherwise they were Enemies I wish we went thus far I am sure our Saviour goes higher And we must do so too as we hope to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Secondly There are others who are so far from loving their Enemies as our Saviour requires that they are Enemies without any cause at all to their Brethren Instead of loving our Enemies blessing them that curse us doing good to them that hate us praying for our Persecutors there are those who hate who curse who injure who reproach those who have done them no harm They speak Evil of them of whom they know none They contend with those that are for Peace They are so far from obeying Jesus that they have not complyed with Solomon's easie lesson Prov. iij. 30. Strive not with a man without cause if he have done thee no harm These are so far from the Christian and Divine Charity that they come short of the Jewish So far are they from loving their Enemies that they hate the most conspicuous Vertue and the greatest Benefactors to mankind No Vertue can be a security against such as these These men can hardly love those that love them They are so far from the Jewish and Christian that they hardly arrive at the unrewardable Charity of the Publicane Matt. v. 46. These men are in the Gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity God open their eyes and turn their hearts II. Let me exhort you to the practice of the lesson laid before us in the words of my Text. Love your Enemies c. We shall never want an occasion to exercise this vertue Our Saviour that gives us this Rule gave us also the greatest Example of it Hence it is most powerfully commended to us It may be thought difficult but we may be reconciled to it when we consider that He who requires it did Himself practice it also We call him Lord and 't is fit we should obey and follow him We need God's pardon and if we have a due sense of what that imports and that this is the way to obtain it we shall not think much to forgive one another Let me speak in the Apostles words Eph. iv 31,32 v. 1,2 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil-speaking be put away from you with all malice And be ye kind one to another tender-hearted forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you Be ye therefore followers of God as dear Children And walk in love as Christ also hath loved us and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God To God the Father Son and Holy Ghost be all honour and praise Amen FINIS BOOKS Writ by RICHARD Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells A Demonstration of the Messias in which the Truth of the Christian Religion is proved especially against the Jews The Judgment of Private Discretion in Matters of Religion defended in a Sermon on 1 Thess V. 21. Preached at St. Paul's Covent-Garden Feb. 23. 86. A Sermon preached before the Lord Mayor at S. Sepulchres Church on Easter Tuesday Apr. 21. 1690. A Sermon preached before the House of Peers on January 30. 1691 2. The Charge of Richard Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells to the Clergy of his Diocese at his Primary Visitation begun at Axebridge June 2. 1692. A Sermon preached before the King and Queen at White-hall March 12. 1692. being the Second Sunday in Lent Newly published Four Sermons concerning the Divinity and Incarnation of our Blessed Saviour by his Grace John Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury in 8o. Of Industry in five Discourses Viz. In General In our General Calling as Christians In our Particular Calling as Gentlemen In our Particular Calling as Scholars By Isaac Barrow D.D. late Master of Trinity-College in Cambridge Published by his Grace John Lord Arch-bishop of Canterbury All sold by B. Aylmer