the Law as the Apostle uses it in my Text I am novv according to my propounded Method to Enquire II. What he means by Establishing And fevv Words will dispatch this By Establishing he means a Propping or Strengthning a making that to stand which was ready to fall that I take to be the sence of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And there was need enough thus to establish the Righteousness of the Law for it was just hidden and ready to fall to the ground through the various misinterpretations and many idle Traditions that were set up against it by the Scribes and Pharisees What in Nature can be more natural than Gratitude to Parents this was ever accounted a Fundamental Law of Nature And yet they rendred this great Commandment of God and Nature void of Effect through a foolish Invention and Tradition of their own Thus we read Mark 7. 10 11 12 13. Moses said Honour thy Father and Mother and whosoever curseth Father or Mother let him dy the death But ye say if a Man shall say to his Father or Mother It is Corban that is to say a Gift by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me he shall be free and ye suffer him no more to do ought for his Father or his Mother making the Word of God of none effect through your Tradition which ye have delivered and many such like things do ye We have our Saviours Word here that they were guilty of this foul abuse of the Law who were great disputers for it in pretence and shew and that they were guilty in many other Instances like this of making void such fundamental Laws of God and Nature by their Traditions And then sure 't was high time to rescue the Righteousness of the Law from such abuses and to set it fast and firm upon better Ground than it stood amongst the Jewish People But who was sufficient to do this why the Apostle tells us in my Text We establish the Law we keep it from falling and set it firm and fast But then 3. Whom does the Apostle mean by this We himself only or others besides himself And in what respect could he understand it of himself or others To this I answer that the Apostle might mean only himself by the We in my Text as he does in many places of his Writings speaking of himself alone in the plural number as other Authors also do but in some places by we he means himself and all other true Apostles and Teachers of the true Doctrine of the Gospel in opposition to those false Apostles and corrupt Teachers who preach'd things disagreeing with Evangelical Law and such were they he disputes against in the Chapter from whence I take my Text who urg'd the obligation of the letter of Moses's Law beyond what was consistent with the Authority Religion of Christ And so 't is likely the Apostle by we in my Text might mean all that taught the true Doctrine of the Gospel reckoning himself in that Number and then his Sence is this All that assert the Doctrine of Christ's Gospel in Truth do establish the Law But in what respect can this be said of them how can they establish the Law by their own Authority No but by the Authority of Christ and those Lessons which he taught and which he gave them Commission to declare to others This then is the Conclusion of this Matter the Christian Religion and all that preach the true Doctrine of it do establish the Righteousness of the Law But now for further Illustration of this we must enquire How it is that they establish the Righteousness of the Law with respect to those several Parts into which I divided it And 1. For those that were made to govern the inward Affections and were expressed in those two great comprehensive Precepts of loving God above all things and their Neighbour as themselves We may be assured this is entirely established by the Gospel and all the true Preachers of it if they establish the Righteousness of the Law for this is all Righteousness there is nothing of the Letter in this For if there had never been letter vvritten of Moses's Lavv vve had been oblig'd to this As soon as ever any Person comes to the use of his Reason and knows by natural Discourse who God is that he is his Creator and the Author of all the good he does at present possess or can ever hope to enjoy it is most evidently necessary to conclude that such a Being to whom he is so highly beholden ought to have the chief Place in his Heart vvhich is express'd by that predominant Affection of his Love And as soon as ever he can apprehend hovv great efficiency there is in every Mans loving his Neighbour as himself to vvork the happiness of Mankind and hovv impotent every thing else is to secure it without this he must needs be overcome by the reasonableness of the thing to acknowledge that himself and all other Persons are oblig'd so to love one another And novv vve are more strongly oblig'd to these Duties than ever not because Moses vvrote them but because it is the Eternal Lavv of God and establish'd by Christ and yet the Obligation does not lie all in this that in reason and duty we ought to obey vvhatsoever God our Creator and greatest Benefactor does command us by his Son whom he sent from Heaven to confirm us that this is his Will but we are infinitely oblig'd by our own Interest to love God above all things and our Neighbour as our selves because Christ hath setled the Law vvhich commands us to do this by a Sanction of greater vveight and strength than ever had been clearly understood before he appear'd in the World himself to acquaint us vvith it i. e. a Promise of Eternal Felicity in a World durable and glorious vvhich must succeed this vve now inhabit to all those that are careful to observe these Duties and a Threatning of endless Misery after this Life to all such as disobey that Eternal Law which enjoyns them And thus that Law which was deliver'd by Moses for the right disposing of our inward Affections both towards God and Man is establish'd by the Gospel and all that preach the Doctrine of it in Sincerity and Truth Let us now consider How the Righteousness of those Laws which Moses laid down for the Direction of Mens outward Actions towards God and their Neighbour is establish'd by it These I shall speak of apart as requiring a more distinct Consideration And I shall speak 1. Of those Laws that were to regulate Mens outward Carriage in the Worship of God And here that God should be worship'd by some outward service is a thing so palpably righteous that natural Reason cannot but assent to it as soon as propounded Again it being easy to collect that God is a God of Order and not of Confusion it seems to be of the Righteousness of this Ceremonial Law that all the
Members of every Society should agree in some decent Rites and worship God in an uniform way as the Jews did and because this cannot be without Laws to direct and oblige it seems no less agreeable to common Sense that there should be such Laws as may direct and oblige in this Case as the Jews had And because Laws signify nothing but to make disorderly Persons despise and laugh at their Law-Makers unless they be put in execution and because they cannot be executed without Power therefore it is necessary that there should be Magistrates invested with sufficient Power for that Work as there were among the Jews And all these things are so righteous so reasonable in themselves and so agreeable to the universal Sense of Mankind that all Nations have consented to them and reduced them to Practice Thus Isocrates that wise and learned Athenian Lawyer in his Precepts to Demonicus among other important Advices gives him this That he should worship God always but especially in publick with the Congregation and he gives this reason of the latter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 For by paying your attendance at the publick Worship you will at once says he both pay your duty to the Gods and shew your self obsequious to the Laws of your Country And this shews that among the Athenians the Ceremonial Law of their Religious Worship was a part of the Civil Law of the Common-Wealth and so 't was with the Romans And I conceive it were no difficult Task to make the same appear to have been the Practice of most or all other Nations concerning whom we have any Records and surely there is much of concluding in the Argument of universal Consent But it may seem more material to the present Case as it concerns us that when the Empire became Christian the Ceremonial Law or the Church became a Part of the Law Imperial till the Popes of Rome by their Artifice and Usurpation made the Imperial truckle under the Pontificial Law But in this Kingdom of England things are put into the ancient Course again and our Ceremonial Law is a Part of the Civil or Common Law of our Nation And this seems to me much more agreeable to the Christian Doctrine than what the Disciples of Rome on the one hand and those of Geneva on the other do aim at and contend for in their Writings and have done some of them with their Arms For both these Parties upon the account of their Authority in spiritual things or in Order to spiritual things as some of them cunningly express it would engross all earthly Power and this is a Charge which I am sure might without much difficulty be made good against both these Parties if it had not by diverse learned Pens been sufficiently done already But this could never be objected against the Clergy of the Church of England truly so called But to return I think it doth appear that what is enjoyn'd by Moses concerning the Worship of God in general Terms namely That God should be worship'd with an external Service and that this should be perform'd in an uniform Way that there should be Laws to direct and oblige in this Matter and that there should be Power to execute such Laws I think I say it does appear that all this in general is of the Righteousness of that Law which is establish'd by the Gospel But then whatsoever in the particular Matter and Form of the Mosaic Worship was righteous in opposition to the Letter whatsoever vvas substantial in opposition to little accidental Circumstances whatsoever was useful for all Mankind and not proper to the present State and Condition of the Jews only is establish'd by Christ in specie Thus Prayer in all its Parts of Confession Petition and Thanksgiving was a Part of their external Worship and the Tongue is so apt and ready an Instrument to be us'd in the Worship of God that all Nations by the Direction of their own Reason have us'd it as well as the Jews And this Duty being always useful fit and good for all People of all Ages and all Nations our Saviour has made it of as large Extent as his Religion which was design'd to be the Religion of the whole World and which we hope will one day be so But the Sacrifices of the Mosaic Law fell into disuse of themselves for they were only intended to be us'd for a time as Types and Shadows of that great Sacrifice which Christ was to offer for the whole World and when that was offer'd they had their End and Accomplishment and were therefore no longer of any use To conclude this Point then I say our Saviour has establish'd the Righteousness and Substance of the Ritual Law of Moses 1. By enjoyning some things that were commanded by that 2. By instituting some others as Baptism and the Euchâ—…ist which were derived from that too 3. By putting it into the Power of his Apostles and their Successors to direct such other Forms and Ceremonies of outward Worship as they should see most conducing to the great Ends of all Religion i. e. the Glory of God and the Good of Men at the Times and in the Places where they should be concern'd And 4. By investing the Secular Christian Magistrates with Power to confirm such Directions by the Sanction of such temporal Penalties as they should see fit in order to the same Ends. And if we consider that in the Time of King David and Solomon when certainly the Publick Worship of God was in its highest Glory among the Jews as well as in after Ages we find many things practis'd in their Divine Worship which seem to have no Warrant at all from any express Command in the Law of Moses which yet appear to have been very acceptable to God I say if we consider this and the Consequent of it which is that even in the Jewish Oeconomy many things pertaining to the outward Worship of God were left to be dispos'd and order'd by the Discretion of those that were to govern we shall have no reason to wonder that Christ has left it in the Power of Christian Governours to appoint what they shall see expedient decent and orderly in the external Worship who have so much greater Light from his Revelations to guide them in it And so I come to shew 2. How the Christian Religion and the Apostle in my Text and all other Preachers of the true Doctrine of the Gospel do by the Authority of that and its Author establish the Righteousness of the Mosaic Law which was design'd to govern the outward Carriage of Men towards one another Now it is of the Righteousness of this Law that we should do by all Men in all things and all Circumstances as honestly as faithfully and as fairly as we would be done by our selves It is of the Righteousness of it that they who do any thing contrary to that Royal Law as St. James calls it should be punish'd according to
Decem-viral Law of the Romans or the Law of the twelve Tables decreed That if any Man injur'd his Neighbour in his Body by Assault and Battery this is our Phrase but it is the Sence of that Law he should pay five and twenty Asses that is some say twenty Pence of our Money perhaps 't is more but that is all one to my present business It vvas not so great a Sum but that one Lucius Veratius a Person loose and rich vvho vvas so mischievous as to take delight in striking Men over the Face vvith his Hand vvould go about the Streets and vvhen the Humor took him vvould give any Man he met a good Flap o' the Face and then command a Servant that followed him for that purpose vvith a Bag of Aera to pay five and twenty to the injur'd Person and so the Law vvas satisfied But vvhen the Magistrates saw that Penalty began to have so little Power over Mens Manners they put it into the Judges Power to increase the Fine according to Discretion and that the Penalty should be made greater in such a Case And so the Form of the Law alter'd that Men might vvalk the Streets about their honest Occasions secure from Violence vvhich vvas the Design of the Law vvas the most reasonable thing in the World It may be objected that the Mosaic Law vvas more perfect than the Roman Law of the twelve Tables though they had their Original from the old Attic Laws Grot. de Jure Bell. lib. 2. c. 1. and they theirs as some say from the Law of Moses and no doubt this is true that vve can find no Improvement of the Mosaic Law in the Law of the twelve Tables But notwithstanding the Law of Moses is not so perfect it self but that there has been very good reason to alter the Form of that as it appears from the Instance of Theft and might do from the Lex Talionis and several others if there vvere any need to insist longer upon it And that Example out of the old Roman Law does sufficiently prove all I produc'd it for vvhich is only this that Circumstances in one kind or other may so alter in any Nation as to make it necessary to change the Form of Laws by increasing the Penalties when it is found that the present Penalties do not satisfy the Ends for vvhich the Laws were made and so the contrary by lessening the Penalties when it is believ'd upon good Grounds that lesser Penalties will secure the Ends for which the Laws were enacted And so I conclude from what has been said in this Particular that the Apostle by the Authority of Christ and his Doctrine does establish the Righteousness of those Political Laws which Moses publish'd for the regulating the outward Behaviour of Men towards one another in the Jewish Nation so that it ought to be observ'd by all Christian Nations And has left the Letter as a Pattern for all Christian Magistrates to make use of so far as they shall see it useful for their People and agreeable to the Ends of Government but has laid no Obligation upon them to use the precise Form any further than so In like manner that I may now joyn both together and come to an end the Apostle as his great Master did left the letter of the Ceremonial Law which was laid down to govern the outward Behaviour of Man in the Worship of God as a Pattern for Christian Governors to imitate in their forming Laws of that nature 〈◊〉 far as they should see it conducible to the Glory of God and agreeable to the Design of the Christian Religion which was intended to be the Religion of the whole World and not of the Jews only And accordingly the Apostles ancient Fathers and Doctors of the Primitive Church Christians did imitate them in that outward part of Religion which was left to their Ordering and that in divers particulars We are not therefore to think as some have seem'd vainly to do that as soon as ever Christ's Religion took place the Civil and Ceremonial Laws of Moses became an Abomination and were to be quite banish'd the World as things altogether incapable of any good use For both those sorts of Laws were nothing but Determinations of the natural Law in particular Instances after a particular Form And that the natural Laws should be particularly determin'd in all Christian Societies after some Form so as to direct our outward Duty both towards God and Man and oblige us to it by the Sanction of temporal Penalties is a thing highly reasonable because it seems absolutely necessary and that for these two Reasons 1. Because the natural Law it self is communicated to us in so few and general Terms and the Sentences of particular Men are so different and so byass'd in particular Cases where their own Interests or Humours are concerned as is known by the Experience of all Men that if there were not particular Laws and Magistrates in every Human Society to determine the natural Law and to determine Men in all Matters and Cases whether of spiritual or temporal Concern and to be more impartial in it than Men can be imagin'd to be if every one was left to be his own Director and Judg it were morally impossible that the Inhabitants of any Nation should live one day without Tumult and Confusion 2. It is necessary that there should be some Form of Laws in all Christian Communities to determine the natural Laws in particular Instances under present Penalties because Christ himself in his Advancement and Confirmation of the natural Law did ratify that in general only by the Rewards and Punishments of a future World And though that be the strongest Tye imaginable upon such as have Faith in it yet there is so little Faith upon Earth as our Saviour affirm'd of his own and prophesi'd of future Ages i. e. there are so few in this World who do stedfastly believe the Rewards and Punishments of that which is to succeed that when Christ had taken away the Obligation of those Jewish Forms of Ceremonial and Forensic Laws which were fitted to the Genius of that Time and People and confirm'd under present temporal Penalties by God himself if he had not establish'd the Righteousness of those Laws by giving Power to the Governors of Christian People to set up other Forms more agreeable to the Religion which he came to plant in the World and such as they should see most conducing to the common Peace and Welfare of their several Nations and Societies and if withal he had not invested them with Authority to settle those Laws with a Sanction of Rewards and Punishments to be bestowed or inflicted in this present Life he had left no possible means as the World stands of restraining the rude Passions and inordinate Desires of faithless carnal Men. But those few that had any fear of future Punishments or any hope of eternal Rewards had been left to be swallowed up
first by such as had none and then those wicked Ones themselves should have stood exposed to the Rapine and beastly Lusts of one another Now because these Absurdities are consequent to an utter Abolition of all Ceremonial and Forensic Laws and because Christ by himself and by his Apostles whom he left with Commission to declare his Sence of things has given some general Rules to direct Christian Governors in the forming of such Laws and because he has consign'd ús over to the Jurisdiction of such as should have lawful Power to rule us both in spiritual and temporal things I conclude that such have Power to determine the Natural Law by making particular Laws both concerning the outward Expressions of our Religion in the Worship of God and our outward Expressions of that Charity which we owe to one another i. e. concerning all things that belong to the common Good of which they whose Business it is are the proper Judges And thus the Righteousness of the whole Law which God gave by Moses is establish'd And 't is in this Sence as I apprehend with all humble submission that the Apostle affirms in my Text We establish the Law And now I could make many applicatory Deductions from the Doctrine I have deliver'd that might be of concern to us But that I may not presume to make too much use of your Patience I shall only beg the favour to mention two briefly which may be perhaps most suitable to the present occasion And they are these 1. If the Apostle in my Text do by the Authority of Christ's Doctrine establish the Righteousness of the whole Mosaic Law in that sence which I have said then he does by the same means ratify our Laws From whence it follows that we cannot behave our selves like true Christians in this matter unless we make a Conscience of paying obedience to them Indeed there 's nothing urg'd upon us in the Gospel more expresly or more earnestly than to be meek and submissive tractable and obedient to Laws and Government If any Person then do pretend to Religion and Conscience and act some outward parts of Piety with all the shew and demureness imaginable and yet indeavours to undermine Government and invalidate Laws either by publick Discourses or secret Murmurs we may certainly conclude that such a Person is no true Follower of Christ and that whatsoever he acts of the outside of Religion it is but the feigned shew of a pretending Pharisee If therefore we are unwilling to be abus'd and cheated by their Arts and Tricks of Hypocrisy if we desire to avoid the Imputation of being wilful and heinous Offenders against that pure peaceable Religion which Christ taught and as we vvould avoid the bitter Consequents of this let us be exhorted to keep the greatest distance we can from that Pride carnal and spiritual and those other worldly Lusts which tempt Men to be such Murmurers and Complainers as St. Jude speaks of which draw the Children of Disobedience in contempt of Laws to desire and indeavour turbulent Changes and Alterations that so in a confus'd hurry they may mend their worldly Condition tho with the shipwrack of their Consciences If we understand the value of Peace within our own Breasts if we have any aim at that Eternal Peace in the Kingdom of God which can be the Reward of none but those who follow the things that belong unto Peace among Men let us carefully shun the Wickedness and Folly of those filthy Dreamers as the Apostle calls them who despise Dominion and speak evil of Dignities who are always censuring the Manage of Affairs in Government which they do not understand but in the Case of Obedience to Laws vvhich the Gospel lays down so plainly that they can't but understand it like brute Beasts corrupt themselves And as vve desire a true Title to the sacred Name of Christians let us receive with Thankfulness the great Benefits vve enjoy by the good Laws of our Country and let us with all lowliness of Mind express our Thanks by paying a Consciencious Obedience to them 2. If the Gospel do establish our Laws by commanding us to pay Honour to our Magistrates from whom we receive the Benefit of them as hath been said and I think prov'd Then let us be exhorted to bear that Love Reverence and Gratitude towards them which God requires we should when he bids us honour them And that first to the King as Supreme under whose Government we have now for above these seventeen Years enjoy'd such Happiness as hath seldom continu'd so long together with so little disturbance either in our own or any other Nation as they know very well vvho turn over the Histories of other Ages and Nations besides our own I say Let the King as Supreme have the first place in our dutiful Respect But then as we are by the same Christian Doctrine bound let us be exhorted in the next place to pay it to Governors that are sent by him for the Punishment of Evil-doers and the Praise of them that do well Let us pay the just respect we ow to all our Magistrates from whose Administration of the Law we receive so many and great Advantages Let us pay an humbl◠and grateful Observance to the Right Honourable the Judges who come into our Country to pronounce impartially the Sentences of the Law and to those worthy Justices by whatsoever other Titles they are dignifi'd who living in our Country make it their Care to preserve our Peace and to assist my Lords the Judges in securing our Lives and Limbs from Violence our Goods from Fraud and Rapine and our Names from Slander and Defamation This we are bound to do by the natural Equity and Reason of the Thing and by the Eternal Obligations of the Gospel which that we may all obey in this and all other Instances of Duty and at last receive the great Rewards of it God of his infinite Mercy grant for his Son Jesus Christ's sake to whom with the Father c. FINIS