those future good things which were promised under the Gospel a kind of rude draught of a better and more perfect Institution which was designed and at last finâ—sht and perfected by the Christian Religion This account the Apostle gives of the legal Rites and Observances Col. 2. 16 17. Let nb maâ—â— judge you in meat or in drink or in respect of a holy day or of the New Moon or of the Sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come bâ—t the body is of Christ that is he is the substance and reality of all those things which were shâ—dowed and figured by those legal observances And so the Apostle to the Heb. calls the Priests and Sacrifices of the Law the Examples and shadows of Heavenly things Chap. 8. 5. and so Chap. 10. 1. the Law having a Shadow of good things to come and not the very image of the things that is being but an obscure Type and not a perfect Representation of the Blessings and Benefits of the Gospel which we now have in truth and reality Now reason will tell us that the Laws concerning these Types and Shadows were only to continue 'till the Substance of the things signified by them should come and that they would be of no longer use when that more perfect Institution which was figured by them should take place and then they would expire and become void of themselves because the reason and use of them ceasing they must necessarily fall But they did not expire immediately upon the coming of Christ and therefore he himself submitted to these Laws so long as they continued in force he was Circumcised and presented in the Temple and performed all other Rites required by the Law that first Covenant to which these Laws and Ordinances belonged continuing in force 'till the ratification of the second Covenant by the death of Christ and then these Laws expired or rather were fulfill'd and had their accomplishment in the Sacrifice of Christ which made all the Sacrifices and other Rites of the Jewish Religion needless and of no use for the future Christ having by this one Sacrifice of himself perfected for ever them that are sanctified as the same Apostle speaks Heb. 10. 14. So that Christ did not properly abrogate and repeal those Ritual and Ceremonial Laws but they having continued as long as they were designed to do and there was any use of them they abated and ceased of themselves And that the death of Christ was the time of their expiration because then the new Covenant took place St. Paul expresly tells us Eph. 2. 15. having abolisht or voided in his flesh the law of Commandments contained in Ordinances and this v. 16. he is said to have done by his Cross and more plainly Col. 2. 14. blotting out the hand-writing of Ordinances which was against us and took it out of the way nailing it to his Cross So that you see that even the Ceremonial Law was not so properly abrogated by the Sacrifice and Death of Christ but rather had its accomplishment and attained its end in the Sacrifice of Christ which by the Eternal efficacy of it to the expiation of Sin and the purifying of our Consciences hath made all the Sacrifices and Washings and other Rites of the Ceremonial Law for ever needless and superfluous Thirdly But especially as to the Moral Law and those Precepts which are of Natural and Perpetual obligation our Saviour did not come either to dissolve or to lessen and slacken the obligation of them And of this I told you our Saviour doth principally if not solely speak here in the Text as will appear to any one that shall attentively consider the scope of his Discourse In the beginning of his Sermon he promiseth Blessing to those and those only who were endowed with those Virtues which are required by the Precepts of the Moral Law or comprehended in them and then he tells them that Christians must be very eminent and conspicuous for the practice of them v. 16. Let your light so shine before Men that they may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven and then he cautions them not to entertain any such imagination as if he intended to dissolve the obligation of the Law and to free Men from the practice of Moral Duties which probably some might have suggested against him think not that I am come to destroy the Law and the Prophets as if he had said you cannot entertain any such conceit if you consider that the Precepts which I inculcate upon you and those Virtues the practice whereof I recommend to you are the same which are contained in the Law and the Prophets So that I am so far from crossing the main design of the Law and the Prophets and taking away the obligation of Moral Duties enjoyned by the Jewish Religion that I come purposely to carry on the same Design to further perfection to give a more perfect and clear Law and to give a greater enforcement and encouragement to the practice of Moral Duties these were always the sum and substance of Religion the ultimate design of the Law and the Prophets and therefore I am so far from discharging Men from the obligation of the Moral Precepts of the Law that I come to bind them more strongly upon you And verily I say unto you that is I solemnly declare that whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach Men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven that is he shall in no wise enter therein You think the Scribes and Pharisees very Pious and Excellent Men and to have attained to a high pitch of Righteousness but I say unto you that except your Righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven And then he instanceth in several Precepts of the Moral Law which in the letter of them especially as they were interpreted by the Teachers of the Law among the Jews were very much short of that Righteousness and Perfection which he now requires of his Disciples and Followers So that his whole Discourse is about Precepts and Obligations of the Moral Law and not a word concerning the Ritual and Ceremonial Law which makes me very prone to think that our Saviour's meaning in the Text is this that his Religion was so far from thwarting and opposing that which was the main design of the Law and the Prophets that is of the Jewish Religion that the principal intention of Christianity was to advance the practice of goodness and virtue by strengthning the obligation of Moral Duties and giving us a more perfect Law and Rule of Life and offering better Arguments and greater Encouragements to the obedience of this Law Therefore for the fuller explication and illustration of this Matter I shall endeavour to clear these three Points First That the Main and Ultimate Design of the Law and the
find any of those Virtues that I have mentioned condemned and forbidden A clear Evidence that Mankind never took any exception against them but are generally agreed about the Goodness of them Fourthly God hath shewn us what is good by External Revelation In former Ages of the World God revealed his will to particular Persons in an extraordinary manner and more especially to the Nation of the Jews the rest of the World being in a great measure left to the conduct of natural Light But in these later Ages he hath made a publick Revelation of his Will by his Son And this as to the matter of our Duty is the same in Substance with the Law of Nature For our Saviour comprehends all under these two general Heads the love of God and of our Neighbour The Apostle reduceth all to three Sobriety Justice and Piety The grace of God that brings Salvation hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present World So that if we believe the Apostle the Gospel teacheth us the very same things which Nature dictated to Men before only it hath made a more perfect discovery of them So that whatever was doubtful and obscure before is now certain and plain the Duties are still the same only it offers us more powerful Arguments and a greater Assistance to the performance of those Duties so that we may now much better say than the Prophet could in his days He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what it is that the Lord requires of thee Fifthly and lastly God shews us what is good by the motions of his Spirit upon the Minds of Men. This the Scripture assures us of and good Men have experience more especially of it though it be hard to give an account of it and to say what motions are from the Spirit of God and what from our own Minds for as the wind blows where it listeth and we hear the sound of it but know not whence it comes nor whither it goes so are the Operations of the Spirit of God upon the Minds of Men secret and imperceptible And thus I have done with the three things I propounded to speak to All that now remains is to make some Inferences from what hath been said by way of Application First Seeing God hath so abundantly provided that we should know our Duty we are altogether inexcusable if we do not do it Because he hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what the Lord requires of thee therefore thou art inexcusable O Man whosoever thou art who livest in a contradiction to this light God hath acquainted us with our Duty by such ways as may most effectually both direct and engage us to the practice of it we are prompted to it by a kind of natural Instinct and strong impressions upon our Minds of the difference of good and evil we are led to the knowledge and urged to the practice of it by our Nature and by our Reason and by our Interest and by that which is commonly very prevalent among Men the general voice and consent of Mankind and by the most powerful and governing passions in Humane Nature by hope and by fear and by shame by the prospect of advantage by the apprehension of danger and by the sense of honour and to take away all possible excuse of ignorance from us by an express Revelation from God the clearest and most perfect that ever was made to the World So that when ever we do contrary to our Duty in any of these great Instances we offend against all these and do in the highest degree fall under the heavy Sentence of our Saviour This is the Condemnation that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light Secondly You see hence what are the great Duties of Religion which God mainly requires of us and how reasonable they are Piety towards God and Justice and Charity towards Men the knowledge whereof is planted in our Nature and grows up with our Reason And these are things which are unquestionably good and against which we can have no exception things that were never reproved nor found fault with by Mankind neither our Nature nor our Reason riseth up against them or dictates any thing to the contrary We have all the Obligation and we have all the Encouragement to them and are secure on all hands in the practice of them In the doing of these things there is no danger to us from the Laws of Men no fear of displeasure from God no offence or sting from our own Minds And these things which are so agreeable to our Nature and our Reason and our Interest are the great things which our Religion requires of us more valuable in themselves and more acceptable to God than whole Burnt-offerings and Sacriâ—ices more than thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl more than if we offered to him all the Beasts of the Forest and the Cattle upon a thousand Hills We are not to neglect any Institution of God but above all we are to secure the observance of those great Duties to which we are directed by our very Nature and tyed by the surest and most sacred of all other Laws those which God hath riveted in our Souls and written upon our Hearts And that Mankind might have no pretence left to excuse them from these the Christian Religion hath set us free from those many positive and outward observances that the Jewish Religion was incumbred withall that we might be wholly intent upon these great Duties and mind nothing in comparison of the real and substantial Virtues of a good Life Thirdly You see in the last place what is the best way to appease the displeasure of God towards a sinful Nation God seems to have as great a Controversie with us as he had with the People of Israel and his wrath is of late years most visibly gone out against us and proportionably to the full measure of our Sins it hath been poured out upon us in full Vials How have the Judgments of God followed us And how close have they followed one another What fearful Calamities have our eyes seen enough to make the ears of every one that hears them to tingle What terrible and hazardous Wars have we been ingaged in What a raging Pestilence did God send among us that swept away thousands and ten thousands in our streets What a dreadful and fatal Fire that was not to be checked and resisted in its course 'till it had laid in Ashes one of the Greatest and Richest Cities in the World What unseasonable weather have we had of late as if for the Wickedness of Men upon the Earth the very Ordinances of Heaven were changed and Summer and Winter Seed-time and Harvest had forgotten their appointed Seasons And which is more and sadder than all this what dangerous attempts have been made upon our
this Pattern hath been since not only closely followed but out-done by the Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome as we have too much Reason to remember upon this day But to proceed in the farther explication of the Text the meaning whereof in short is this that the ritual and instrumental parts of Religion and all Laws and Duties concerning them are of less Value and Esteem with God than those which are of a moral Nature especially the great Duties and Offices of Piety and Humanity of the love of God and of our Neighbour And if we consider the matter well we shall see the Reason of it to be very plain because natural and moral Duties are approved of God for themselves and for their own sake upon account of their own natural and intrinsical Goodness but the ritual and instrumental parts of Religion are only pleasing to God in order to these and so far as they tend to beget and promote them in us they are not naturally good in themselves but are instituted and appointed by God for the sake of the other and therefore great Reason there is that they should be subordinate and give way to them when they come in competition with one another For this is a known Rule which takes place in all Laws that Laws of less importance should give way to those that are of greater quoties Leges ex circumstantiâ— colliduntur ita ut utraque servari non potest servanda est lex potior When ever two Laws happen to be in such circumstances as to clash with one another so that both of them cannot be observed that Law which is better and of greater consequence is to be kept And Tully gives much the same Rule in this matter In comparing of Laws says he we are to consider which Law is most useful and just and reasonable to be observed From whence it will follow that when two Laws or more or how many soever they be cannot be observed because they clash with one another ea maxime conservanda putetur quae ad maximas res pertinere videatur It is reasonable that that Law should be observed which is of greatest Moment and Concernment By what hath been said we may learn what is the meaning of this Saying which our Saviour more than once cites out of the Prophet I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice From the words thus explained I shall take occasion to prosecute the two Propositions which I mentioned before namely First That Natural Religion is the Foundation of Instituted and Revealed Religion Secondly That no Instituted Religion was ever designed to take away the obligation of Natural Duties but is intended to establish and confirm them And both these are sufficiently grounded in the Reason of our Saviour's Discourse from this Rule I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice I. That Natural Religion is the Foundation of Instituted and Revealed Religion and all Revealed Religion does suppose and take for granted the clear and undoubted Principles and Precepts of Natural Religion and builds upon them By Natural Religion I mean obedience to the Natural Law and the performance of such duties as Natural Light without any express and supernatural Revelation doth dictate to Men. These lye at the bottom of all Religion and are the Great and Fundamental Duties which God requires of all Mankind as that we should love God and behave our selves reverently towards him that we should believe his Revelations and testifie our dependance upon him by imploring his aid and direction in all our necessities and distresses and acknowledge our obligations to him for all the Blessings and Benefits which we receive that we should moderate our Appetites in reference to the Pleasures and Enjoyments of this World and use them temperately and chastly that we should be just and upright in all our Dealings with one another true to our word and faithful to our trust and in all our words and actions observe that Equity towards others which we desire they should use towards us that we should be kind and charitable merciful and compassionate one towards another ready to do good to all and apt not only to pity but to relieve them in their misery and necessity These and such like are those which we call Moral Duties and they are of eternal and perpetual obligation because they do naturally oblige without any particular and express Revelation from God And these are the Foundation of Revealed and Instituted Religion and all Revealed Religion does suppose them and build upon them for all Revelation from God supposeth us to be Men and alters nothing of those Duties to which we were naturally obliged before And this will clearly appear if we consider these three things First That the Scripture every where speaks of these as the main and Fundamental Duties of the Jewisâ— Religion Secondly That no Instituted Service of God no positive part of Religion was ever acceptable to him when these were neglected Thirdly That the great Design of the Christian Religion was to restore and reinforce the practice of the natural Law 1. That the Scripture every where speaks of these as the main and Fundamental Duties of the Jewish Religion When our Saviour was ask'd which was the first and great Commandment of the Law he answered Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy strength and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self One would have expected he would have given quite another Answer and have pitched upon some of those things which were so much magnified among the Jews and which they laid so much weight upon that he should have instanced in Sacrifice or Circumcision or the Law of the Sabbath but he overlooks all these as inconsiderable in comparision and instances only in those two great heads of Moral Duty the love of God and our Neighbour which are of natural and perpetual obligation and comprehend under them all other Moral Duties And these are those which our Saviour calls the Law and the Prophets and which he says he came not to destroy but to fulfill Mat. 5. 17 18 19 20. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfill for verily I say unto you 'till Heaven and Earth pass one jot or one title shall in no wise pass from the Law 'till all be fulfilled Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach men so he shall be call'd the least in the Kingdom of Heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them the same shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven For I say unto you that except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven That our Saviour doth not here speak of the Judicial or Ceremonial Law of the Jews but of the Duties of the Moral Law
Duties namely those which are comprehended under those two great Commandments of the love of God and our Neighbour In the Christian Religion there is very little that is meerly Positive and Instituted besides the two Sacraments and praying to God in the Name and Mediation of Jesus Christ 2. The most prefect Revelation that ever God made to Mankind I mean that of the Christian Religion doth furnish us with the best helps and advantages for the performance of Moral Duties it discovers our Duty more clearly to us it offers us the greatest assistance to enable us to the performance of it it presents us with the most powerful Motives and Arguments to engage us thereto so that this Revelation of the Gospel is so far from weakning the obligation of natural Duties that it confirms and strengthens it and urgeth us more forcibly to the practice of them 3. The positive Rites and Institutions of Revealed Religion are so far from entrenching upon the Laws of Nature that they were always designed to be subordinate and subservient to them and when ever they come in competition it is the declared will of God that positive Institutions should give way to natural Duties and this I have shewn to be plainly the meaning of this Saying in the Text I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice If Circumstances be such that one part of Religion must give place God will have the Ritual and Instituted part to give way to that which is Natural and Moral It is very frequent in Scripture when the Duties of Natural Religion and Rites of Divine Institution come in competition to slight and disparage these in comparison of Moral Duties and to speak of them as things which God hath no pleasure in and which in comparison of the other he will hardly own that he hath commanded When ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hands Isa 1. 12. Thou desirest not Sacrifice thou delightest not in Burnt-Offerings Psal 51. 16. Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl He hath shewn thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy But God no where makes any comparison to the disadvantage of Natural Duties he never derogated from them in any Case he never said he would have such a thing and not mercy or that he had rather such a Rite of Religion should be performed than that men should do the greatest good and shew the greatest Charity to one another It is no where made a question will the Lord be pleased that we deal justly every Man with his Neighbour and speak the truth one to another that we be kind and tender-hearted and ready to forgive that we be willing to distribute and give Alms to those that are in need there is no such question as this put in Scripture nay it is positive in these Matters that with such Sacrifices God is well pleased I instance in this Vertue more especially of Kindness and Compassion because it is one of the prime instances of Moral Duties as Sacrifice is put for all the Ritual and Instituted part of Religion and this disposition of Mind our Saviour makes the root of all Moral Duties Love is the fulfilling of the Law and the Apostle speaks of it as the great End and Scope of the Gospel The end of the Commandment is Charity And this temper and disposition of Mind he advanceth above Knowledge and Faith and Hope The greatest of these is Charity and without this he will not allow a Man to be any thing in Christianity this he makes our highest perfection and attainment and that which abides and remains in the future state Charity never fails This our Saviour most effectually recommends to us both in his Doctrine and by his Example this he presseth as the peculiar Law of his Religion and the proper Mark and Character of a Disciple This he requires us to exercise towards those who practice the contrary towards us to love our Enemies and to do good to them that hate us And of this he hath given us the greatest Example that ever was when we were Enemies to him he loved us so as hardly ever any Man did his Friend so as to lay down his Life for us and he Instituted the Sacrament for a Memorial of his love to Mankind and to put us in mind how we ought to love one another And now the Application of what hath been said upon this Argument to the occasion of this Day is very obvious and there are two very natural Inferences from it First From what hath been said upon this Argument it plainly appears what place Natural and Moral Duties ought to have in the Christian Religion and of all Natural Duties Mercy and Goodness This is so primary a Duty of Humane Nature so great and considerable a part of Religion that all positive Institutions must give way to it and nothing of that kind can cancel the obligation of it nor justifie the violation of this great and Natural Law Our Blessed Saviour in his Religion hath declared nothing to the prejudice of it but on the contrary hath heightned our obligation to it as much as is possible by telling us that the Son of Man came not to destroy Mens lives but to save them So that they know not what manner of Spirit they are of who will kill Men to do God service and to advance his Cause and Religion in the World will break through all obligations of Nature and Civil Society and disturb the Peace and Happiness of Mankind Nor did our Saviour by any thing in his Religion design to release Men from the obligation of Natural and Civil Duties He had as one would imagine as much Power as the Pope but yet he deposed none of the Princes of this World nor did Absolve their Subjects from their Fidelity and Obedience to them for their opposition to his Religion he assumed no such Power to himself no not in Ordine ad Spiritualia nor that ever we read of did he give it to any other Whence then comes his pretended Vicar to have this Authority And yet the horrid attempt of this Day was first designed and afterwards carried on in prosecution of the Popes Bull of Excommunication and was not so much the effect of the despair and discontent of that Party here in England as the Natural Consequence of their Doctrines of Extirpating Hereticks and Deposing Kings and Absolving Subjects from their Allegiance to them No Zeal for any positive Institution in Religion can justifie the Violation of the natural Law the Precepts whereof are of primary and indispensable Obligation The Pope's Supremacy is not so clear as the Duty of Obedience to civil Government nor is Transubstantiation so plainly revealed in Scripture as it is both in Nature and Scripture that we should do no murder And yet how many thousands have been
Prophets was to engage Men to the practice of Moral Duties that is of real and substantial goodness Secondly That the Law of Moses or the dispensation of the Jewish Religion was comparatively very weak and insufficient to this purpose Thirdly That the Christian Religion hath supplied all the defects and weaknesses and imperfections of that dispensation these three Particulars will fully clear our Saviour's meaning in this Text. First That the Main and Ultimate Design of the Law and the Prophets was to engage Men to the practice of Moral Duties that is of real and substantial Goodness consisting in those Virtues which our Saviour mentions at the beginning of this Sermon Humility and Meekness and Mercy and Righteousness and Purity and Peaceableness This our Saviour more than once tells us was the sum and substance the main scope and design of the whole Doctrine of the Law and the Prophets Mat. 7. 12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that Men should do unto you do ye even so unto them for this is the Law and the Prophets And Mat. 22. 40. That the love of God and our Neighbour those two great Commands to which all Moral Duties are reduced are the two great hinges of the Jewish Religion on these two hang all the Law and the Prophets St. Paul calls Love the fulfilling of the whole Law Rom. 13. 10. St. James the Perfâ—ct and the Royal Law as that which hath a Soveraign influence upon all parts of Religion And therefore the Apostle Rom. 3. 21. tells us that this more perfect Righteousness which was brought in by the Gospel or the Christian Religion is witnessed by the Law and the Prophets And indeed the Prophets every where do slight and undervalue the Ritual and Ceremonial part of Religion in comparison of the practice of Moral Duties Isa 1. 11. To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me bring no more vain oblations your New Moons and your appointed Feasts my Soul hateth But what then are the things that are acceptable to God He tells us at the 16 th ver wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the Oppressed judge the Fatherless plead for the Widow And by the Prophet Jeremiah God tells that People that the business of Sacrifices was not the thing primarily designed by God but obedience to the Moral Law the Ritual Law came in upon occasion for the prevention of Idolatry and by way of condescention to the temper of that People and thus Maimonides and the Learned Jews understand these words Jer. 7. 22 23. I spake not unto your Fathers nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the Land of Egypt concerning Burnt-offerings and Sacrifices but this thing commanded I them saying obey my voice and walk in all the ways that I have commanded and I will be your God and ye shall be my People So likewise in the Prophet Hosea God plainly prefers the Moral before the Ritual part of Religion as that which was principally designed and intended by him Hos 6. 6. I desired Mercy and not Sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than Burnt-Offerings but most plainly and expresly Mich. 6. 6. Wherewith shall I come before the Lord Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings Wiâ— the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do â—ustly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God These it seems were the great things which God stood upon and required of Men even under that imperfect dispensation and these are the very things which the Christian Religion doth so strictly enjoyn and command so that this Righteousness which the Gospel requires was witnessed to by the Law and the Prophets I proceed to the Second Point That the Law of Moses or the dispensation of the Jewish Religion was comparatively very weak and insufficient to make Men truly good and for the promoting of real and inward righteousness it gave Laws indeed to this purpose but those not so clear and perfect or at least not so clearly understood as they are now under the Gospel and it made no express promises of inward Grace and assistance to quicken and strengthen us in the doing of our Duty it made no explicit promises of any blessing and reward to the doing of our duty beyond this Life so that the best and most powerful Arguments and Encouragements to Obedience were either wholly wanting or very obscurely revealed under this dispensation And this insufficiency of the Jewish dispensation both to our justification and sanctification to the reconciling of us to God and the making of us really good the Apostle frequently inculcates in the New Testament St. Paul Acts 13. 38 39. Be it known unto you therefore Men and Brethren that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins and by him all that believe are justified from all those things from which ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses and Rom. 8. 3. What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh that is by reason of the carnality of that dispensation consisting in the purification of the body Gal. 3. 21. he calls it a Law unfit to give Life If there had been a Law which could have given Life verily Righteousness had been by the Law And the Apostle to the Hebrews Ch. 8. 6 7 8 c. finds fault with the dispensation of the Law for the lowness and meanness of its Promises being only of Temporal good things and for want of conferring an inward and a powerful Principle to enable Men to obedience but now hath he obtained speaking of Christ a more excellent Ministry by how much also he is the Mediator of a better Covenant which was established upon better Promises for if that first Covenant had been faultless then should no place have been sought for a second and this second and better Covenant he tells us was foretold by the Prophets of the Old Testament for finding fault with them he saith behold the days come saith the Lord when I will make a new Covenant with the House of Israel and the House of Judah not according to the Covenant which I made with their Fathers For this is the Covenant which I will make with the House of Israel after those days saith the Lord. I will put my Laws into their minds and write them in their hearts And Chap. 10. 1 4. he shews the inefficacy of their Sacrifices for the real expiation of Sin the Law having but a shadow of good things to come and not the lively representation of the things themselves can never with those Sacrifices which they offer'd year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect for it is not possible that
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the Law being made a curse for us that is whereas the Law left Sinners as to those Sins which stood most in need of pardon under a Curse having provided no expiation for them Christ hath redeemed them from that Curse by making a general expiation for Sin and in this sense it is that the Author to the Hebrews says Ch. 9. 15. that Christ died for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Covenant that is for those Sins for which the Covenant of the Law had provided no way of forgiveness and therefore St. John says emphatically 1 Joh. 1. 7. that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all Sin Thirdly The Law did not afford sufficiently plain and certain Rules and Directions for a good Life As the corruption and degeneracy of Mankind grew worse so the light of Nature waxed dimmer and dimmer and the Rule of Good and Evil was more doubtful and uncertain and that in very considerable instances of our Duty The Law of Moses was peculiar to the Jews and even to them who only had the benefit and advantage of it it did not give clear and perfect light and direction as to Moral Duties and those things which are of an Eternal and Immutable Reason and Goodness And therefore our Saviour in this Sermon explains it to a greater perfection than it was understood to have among the Jews or the letter of it seemed to intend and hath not only forbidden several things permitted by that Law as Divorce and Retaliation of Injuries but hath heightned our Duty in several instances of it requiring us to love our Enemies and to forgive the greatest injuries and provocations tho' never so often repeated and not only not to revenge them but to requite them with good turns which were not understood by Mankind to be Laws before but yet when duly consider'd are very agreeable to right Reason and the sense of the wisest and bâ—st Men. So that the Christian Religion â—ath not only fixt and determined our Duty and brought it to a greater certainty but hath raised it to a greater perfection and rendered it every way fit to bring the Minds of Men to a more Divine temper and a more reasonable and perfect way of serving God than ever the World was instructed in before Fourthly The Promises and Threatnings of the Law were only of temporal good and evil things which are in comparison of the endless Rewards and Punishments of another World but very languid and faint Motives to obedience Not but that the Jews under the Law had such apprehensions of their own Immortality and of a future state of Happiness and Misery after this Life as Natural Light suggested to them which was in most but a wavering and uncertain perswasion and consequently of small efficacy to engage Men to their Duty but the Law of Moses added little or nothing to the clearness of those Natural Notions concerning a future state and the strengthning of this perswasion in the Minds of Men it did rather suppose it than give any new force and life to it And for this Reason more particularly the Apostle tells us that the Law was but weak to make Men good because it did not work strongly enough upon the hopes and fears of Men by the weight of its Promises and the terrour of its Threatnings and that for this weakness and imperfection of it it was removed and a more powerful and awakening dispensation brought in in the place of it Heb. 7. 18 19. For there is verily a disannulling of the Commandment that was before that is of the Jewish Law for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof for the Law made nothing perfect but the bringing in of a better hope did that is the Covenant of the Gospel which promiseth Eternal Life And Ch. 8. 6. for this Reason more especially the Apostle says that Christ had obtained a more excellent Ministry being the Mediator of a better Covenant which was establish'd upon better Promises And Rom. 1. 16 18. St. Paul tell us that for this Reason the Gospel is the power of God unto Salvation because therein the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men. The clear Revelation of a Future Judgment was that which made the Gospel so proper and so powerful an Instrument for the Salvation of Men. The great impiety of Mankind and their impenitency in it was not so much to be wondred at before while the World was in a great measure ignorant of the infinite danger of a wicked Life and therefore God is said in some sort to overlook it but now he commands all Men every where to repent because he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the World in righteousness by that Man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead Acts 17. 30 31. The clear discovery and perfect assurance of a future Judgment calls loudly upon all Men to leave their Sins and turn to God Fifthly The Covenant of the Law had no spiritual Promises contained in it of the grace and assistance of God's Holy Spirit for the mortifying of Sin and enabling Men to their Duty and supporting them under Sufferings but the Gospel is full of clear and express Promises to this purpose Our Saviour hath assured us that God will give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him Luke 11. 13. and this the Apostle tells us is actually confer'd upon all true Christians those who do sincerely embrace and believe the Gospel Rom. 8. 9. If any Man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his Hence the Gospel is call'd by the same Apostle the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus v. 2d of that Chap. The Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the Law of Sin and Death and in the next words he tells us that herein manifestly appeared the weakness of the Law that it left Men destitute of this mighty help and advantage at least as to any special promise of it What the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and by making him a Sacrifice for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit that is that that Righteousness which the Law aimed at and signified but was too weak to effect might be really accomplisht in us who walk not after the Flesh but after the Spirit that is who are acted and assisted by a higher and better Principle than Men either have in Nature or the carnal dispesnation of the Law did endow Men withall And because of this great defect the Law is said to be a state of Bondage and Servitude and on the contrary
plain from his following Discourse and the Character he gives of those Persons of whom he was speaking who hold the truth of God in unrighteousness because that which may be known of God is manifest in them for God hath shewn it unto them and this he proves because those who were destitute of Divine Revelation were not without all knowledge of God being led by the sight of this visible World to the knowledge of an invisible Being and Power that was the Author of it ver 20 21. For the invisible things of him from the Creation of the World are clearly seen being understood by the things which are made even his Eternal Power and Godhead so that they are without excuse because that when they knew God they glorified him not as God Haec est summa delicti nolle agnoscere quem ignorare non possis saith Tertullian to the Heathen This is the height of thy fault not to acknowledge him whom thou canst not but know not to own him of whom thou canst not be ignorant if thou wouldst neither were thankful they did not pay those acknowledgments to him which of right were due to the Author of their Being and of all good things but became vain in their imaginations 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they were fool'd with their own Reasonings This he speaks of the Philosophers who in those great Arguments of the Bâ—ing and Providence of God the Immoâ—allity of the Soul and the Rewards of another World had lost the truth by too much subtlety about it and had disputed themselves into doubt and uncertainty about those things which were naturally known for nimium alterâ—ando veritas amittitur Truth is many times â—lost by too much Contention and Dispute about it and by too eager a pursuit of it Men many times out-run it and leave it behind ver 22. and professing themselves to be Wise they became Fools Men never play the fools more than by endeavouring to be over subtle and wise ver 23. and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an Image made like to corruptible Man and to Birds four footed Beasts and creeping things here he speaks of the sottishness of their Idolatry whereby they provoked God to give them up to all manner of lewdness and impurity ver 24. wherefore God also gave them up unto uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts and again ver 26. for this Cause God gave them up to vile affections and then he innumerates the abominable Lusts and Vices they were guilty of notwithstanding their Natural acknowledgment of the Divine Justice ver 32. who knowing the judgment of God that they which commit such things are worthy of death not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them By all which it appears that he speaks of the Heathen who offended against the Natural Light of their own Minds and therefore were without excuse Quam sibâ— veniam sperare possunâ— impieâ—atis suae qui non agnoscunt cultum ejus quem prorsùs ignorari ab hominibus fas non est saith Lactantius How can they hope for pardon of their impiety who deny to worship that God of whom it is not possible Mankind should be wholly ignorant So that this is To hold the truth in unrighteousness injuriously to suppress it and to hinder the power and efficacy of it upon our Minds and Actions for so the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 sometimes signifies as well as to hold fast and this every Man does who acts contrary to what he believes and knows he offers violence to the lighâ— of his own Mind and does injury to the truth and keeps that a Prisoner which would set him free ye shall know the truth says our Lord and the truth shall make you free And this is one of the highest aggravations of the Sins of Men to offend against Knowledge and that light which God hath set up in every Man's Mind If Men wander and stumble in the dark it is not to be wondred at many times it is unavoidable and no care can prevent it but in the light it is expected Men should look before them and discern their way That Natural Light which the Heathens had tho' it was but comparatively dim and imperfect yet the Apostle takes notice of it as a great aggravation of their Idolatrous and Abominable Practices Those natural Notions which all Men have of God if they had in any measure attended to them and govern'd themselves by them might have been sufficient to have preserved them from dishonouring the Deity by worshiping Creatures instead of God the common light of Nature was enough to have discovered to them the evil of those lewd and unnatural practices which many of them were guilty of but they detained and supprest the truth most injuriously and would not suffer it to have its natural and proper influence upon them and this is that which left them without excuse that from the light of Nature they had knowledge enough to have done better and to have preserved them from those great Crimes which were so common among them And if this was so great an aggravation of the impiety and wickedness of the Heathen and left them without excuse what Apology can be made for the impiety and unrighteousness of Christians who have so strong and clear a light to discover to them their duty and the danger of neglecting it to whom the wrath of God is plainly revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of Men The Truths of the Gospel are so very clear and powerful and such an improvement of Natural light that Men must use great force and violence to suppress them and to hinder the efficacy of them upon their lives And this is a certain Rule by how much the greater our Knowledge by so much the less is our Excuse and so much the greater Punishment is due to our faults So our Lord hath told us Luke 12. 47. That Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes And John 9. 41. If ye were blind says our Saviour to the Jews ye should have no sin So much ignorance as there is of our Duty so much abatement of the wilfulness of our faults but if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth there remains no more Sacrifice for sin but a fearful expectation of Judgment and fiery indignation says the Apostle to the Hebrews Chap. 10. 26 27. If we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth implying that Men cannot pretend ignorance for their faults after so clear a revelation of the will of God as is made to Mankind by the Gospel And upon this Consideration it is that our Saviour doth so aggravate the impenitency and unbelief of the Jews because it was in opposition to all the advantages of Knowledge which can be imagined to be afforded to
that he would not do what he knew he ought to do or would do what he knew he ought not to do Now if a Man be simply and invincibly ignorant of his Duty his neglect of it is altogether involuntary for the Will hath nothing to do where the Understanding doth not first direct And this is the Case of Children who are not yet come to the use of Reason for tho' they may do that which is materially a fault yet it is none in them because by reason of their incapacity they are at present invincibly ignorant of what they ought to do And this is the Case likewise of Ideots who are under a natural incapacity of Knowledge and so far as they are so nothing that they do is imputed to them as a fault The same may be said of distracted Persons who are deprived either wholly or at some times of the use of their Understandings so far and so long as they are thus deprived they are free from all guilt and to Persons who have the free and perfect use of their Reason no neglect of any Duty is imputed of which they are absolutely and invincibly ignorant For instance it is a Duty incumbent upon all Mankind to believe in the Son of God where he is sufficiently manifested and revealed to them but those who never heard of him nor had any opportunity of coming to the Knowledge of him shall not be Condemned for this infidelity because it is impossible they should believe on him of whom they never heard they may indeed be Condemned upon other accounts for â—inning against the light of Nature and for not obeying the Law which was written in their hearts for what the Apostle says of the Revelation of the Law is as true of any other Revelation of God As many as have sinned without Law shall also perish without Law and as many as have sinned under the Law shall be judged by the Law Rom. 2. 12. In like manner those who have â—inned without the Gospel that is who never had the knowledge of it shall not be Condemned for any offence against that Revelation which was never made to them but for their violation of the Law of Nature only they that have sinned under the Gospel shall be judged by it Secondly there is likewise another sort of ignorance which either does not at all or very little extenuate the faults of Men when Men are not only ignorant but chuse to be so that is when they wilfully neglect those Means and Opportunities of knowledge which are afforded to them such as Job speaks of Job 21. 14. Who say unto God depart from us for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways And this sort of ignorance many among the Jews were guilty of when our Saviour came and preached to them but they would not be instructed by him The light came among them but they loved darkness rather than light as he himself says of them and as he says elsewhere of the Pharisees They rejected the Counsel of God against themselves they wilfully shut their eyes against that light which offered it self to them They would not see with their eyes nor hear with their ears nor understand with their hearts that they might be converted and healed Now an ignorance in this degree wilful can hardly be imagined to carry any excuse at all in it He that knew not his Lord's Will because he would not know it because he wilfully rejected the Means of coming to the knowledge of it deserves to be beaten with as many stripes as if he had known it because he might have known it and would not He that will not take notice of the King's Proclamation or will stop his ears when it is read and afterwards offends against it does equally deserve punishment with those who have read it and heard it and disobey'd it because he was as grosly faulty in not knowing it and there is no reason that any Man 's gross fault should be his excuse So that it is neither of these sorts of ignorance that our Saviour means neither absolute and invincible ignorance nor that which is grosly wilful and affected for the first Men deserve not to be beaten at all because they cannot help it for the latter they deserve not to be excused because they might have helped their ignorance and would not But our Saviour here speaks of such an ignorance as does in a good degree extenuate the fault and yet not wholly excuse it for he says of them that they knew not their Lord's will and yet that this ignorance did not wholly excuse them from blame nor exempt them from punishment but they should be beaten with few stripes In the Third place then there is an ignorance which is in some degree faulty and yet does in a great measure excuse the faults which proceed from it and this is when Men are not absolutely ignorant of their Duty but only in comparison of others who have a far more clear and distinct Knowledge of it and tho' they do not grosly and wilfully neglect the Means of further Knowledge yet perhaps they do not make the best use they might of the opportunities they have of knowing their Duty better and therefore in comparison of others who have far better Means and Advantages of knowing their Lord's Will they may be said not to know it tho' they are not simply ignorant of it but only have a more obscure and uncertain knowledge of it Now this ignorance does in a great measure excuse such Persons and extenuate their Crimes in comparison of those who had a clearer and more perfect knowledge of their Master's Will and yet it does not free them from all guilt because they did not live up to that degree of knowledge which they had and perhaps if they had used more care and industry they might have known their Lord's Will better And this was the Case of the Heathen who in comparison of those who enjoyed the light of the Gospel might be said not to have known their Lord's Will tho' as to many parts of their Duty they had some directions from Natural Light and their Consciences did urge them to many things by the obscure apprehensions and hopes of a Future Reward and the fear of a Future Punishment But this was but a very obscure and uncertain knowledge in comparison of the clear Light of the Gospel which hath discovered to us our Duty so plainly by the Laws and Precepts of it and hath presented us with such powerful Motives and Arguments to Obedience in the Promises and Threatnings of it And this likewise is the Case of many Christians who either through the natural slowness of their Understandings or by the neglect of their Parents and Teachers or other Circumstances of their Education have had far less Means and Advantages of Knowledge than others God does not expect so much from those as from others to whom he hath given greater Capacity and Advantages
of Knowledge and when our Lord shall come to call his Servants to an account they shall be beaten with fewer stripes than others they shall not wholly escape because they were not wholly ignorant but by how much they had less Knowledge than others by so much their Punishment shall be lighter And there is all the Equity in the World it should be so that Men should be accountable according to what they have received and that to whom less is given less should be required at their hands The Scripture hath told us that God will judge the World in Righteousness now Justice does require that in taxing the Punishment of Offenders every thing should be consider'd that may be a just excuse and extenuation of their Crimes and that accordingly their Punishment should be abated Now the greatest extenuation of any fault is ignorance which when it proceeds from no fault of ours no fault can proceed from it so that so far as any Man is innocently ignorant of his Duty so far he is excusable for the neglect of it for every degree of ignorance takes off so much from the perverseness of the will nihil ardet in inferno nisi propria voluntas Nothing is punisht in Hell but what is voluntary and proceeds from our Wills I do not intend this Discourse for any commendation of Ignorance or encouragement to it For Knowledge hath many advantages above it and is much more desirable if we use it well and if we do not it is our own fault if we be not wanting to our selves we may be much happier by our Knowledge than any Man can be by his Ignorance for tho' Ignorance may plead an excuse yet it can hope for no Reward and it is always better to need no excuse than to have the best in the world ready at hand to plead for our selves Besides that we may do well to consider that ignorance is no where an excuse where it is cherisht so that it would be the vainest thing in the world for any Man to foster it in hopes thereby to excuse himself for where it is wilful and chosen it is a fault and as I said before it is the most unreasonable thing in the World that any Man's fault should prove his excuse So that this can be no encouragement to ignorance to say that it extenuates the faults of Men for it does not extenuate them whenever it is wilful and affected and when ever it is designed and chosen it is wilful and then no Man can reasonably design to continue ignorant that he may have an excuse for his faults because then the ignorance is wilful and whenever it is so it ceaseth to be an excuse I the rather speak this because Ignorance hath had the good fortune to meet with great Patrons in the World and to be extol'd tho' not upon this account yet upon another for which there is less pretence of Reason as if it were the Mother of Devotion Of Superstition I grant it is and of this we see plentiful proof among those who are so careful to preserve and cherish it but that true Piety and Devotion should spring from it is as unlikely as that Darkness should produce Light I do hope indeed and Charitably believe that the ignorance in which some are detained by their Teachers and Governours will be a real excuse to as many of them as are otherwise honest and sincere but I doubt not but the errors and faults which proceed from this ignorance will lie heavy upon those who keep them in it I proceed to the Second Observation That the greater Advantages and Opportunities any Man hath of knowing the will of God and his Duty the greater will be his Condemnation if he do not do it The Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to it shall be beaten with many stripes Which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself The preparation of our Mind to do the Will of God whenever there is occasion and opportunity for it is accepted with him a Will rightly disposed to obey God tho' it be not brought in to act for want of opportunity does not lose its Reward but when notwithstanding we know our Lord's Will there are neither of these neither the act nor the preparation and resolution of doing it what punishment may we not expect The Just God in punishing the sins of Men proportions the punishment to the Crime and where the Crime is greater the punishment riseth as amongst the Jews where the Crime was small the Malefactor was sentenced to a few stripes where it was great he was beaten with many Thus our Saviour represents the great Judge of the World dealing with Sinners according as their Sins are aggravated he will add to their punishment Now after all the aggravations of sin there is none that doth more intrinsically heighten the malignity of it than when it is committed against the clear knowledge of our Duty and that upon these three accounts First Because the Knowledge of God's Will is so great an advantage to the doing of it Secondly Because it is a great obligation upon us to the doing of it Thirdly Because the neglect of our Duty in this case cannot be without a great deal of wilfulness and contempt I shall speak briefly to these three First Because the knowledge of God's Will is so great an advantage to the doing of it and every advantage of doing our Duty is a certain aggravation of our neglect of it And this is the Reason which our Saviour adds here in the Text For to whomsoever much is given of them much will be required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more It was no doubt a great discouragement and disadvantage to the Heathen that they were so doubtful concerning the will of God and in many cases left to the uncertainty of their own Reason by what way and means they might best apply themselves to the pleasing of him and this discouraged several of the wisest of them from all serious endeavours in Religion thinking it as good to do nothing as to be mistaken about it Others that were more naturally Devout and could not satisfie their Consciences without some expressions of Religion fell into various superstitions and were ready to embrace any way of Worship which Custom prescribed or the fancies of Men could suggest to them and hence sprang all the stupid and barbarous Idolatries of the Heathen For ignorance growing upon the World that natural propention which was in the Minds of Men to Religion and the Worship of a Deity for want of certain direction exprest it self in those foolish and abominable Idolatries which were practiced among the Heathen And is it not then a mighty advantage to us that we have the clear and certain direction of Divine Revelation We have the Will of God plainly discovered to us and all the parts of our Duty clearly
defined and determined so that no Man that is in any measure free from interest and prejudice can easily mistake in any great and material part of his Duty We have the Nature of God plainly revealed to us and such a Character of him given as is most suitable to our natural Conceptions of a Deity as render him both awful and amiable for the Scripture represents him to us as Great and Good Powerful and Merciful a perfect hater of Sin and a great lover of Mankind and we have the Law and manner of his Worship so far as was needful and the Rules of a good Life clearly exprest and laid down and as a powerful Motive and Argument to the obedience of those Laws a plain discovery made to us of the endless Rewards and Punishments of another World And is not this a mighty advantage to the doing of God's Will to have it so plainly declared to us and so powerfully enforced upon us So that our Duty lies plainly before us we see what we have to do and the danger of neglecting it so that considering the advantage we have of doing God's Will by our clear knowledge of it we are altogether inexcusable if we do it not Secondly The knowledge of our Lord's Will is likewise a great obligation upon us to the doing of it For what ought in reason to oblige us more to do any thing than to be fully assur'd that it is the Will of God and that it is the Law of the great Soveraign of the World who is able to save or to destroy that it is the pleasure of him that made us and who hath declared that he designs to make us happy by our obedience to his Laws So that if we know these things to be the Will of God we have the greatest obligation to do them whether we consider the Authority of God or our own interest and if we neglect them we have nothing to say in our own excuse We knew the Law and the advantage of keeping it and the penalty of breaking it and if after this we will transgress there is no Apology to be made for us They have something to plead for themselves who can say that tho' they had some apprehension of some parts of their Duty and their Minds were apt to dictate to them that they ought to do some things yet the different apprehensions of Mankind about several of these things and the doubts and uncertainties of their own Minds concerning them made them easie to be carried off from their Duty by the vicious inclinations of their own Nature and the tyranny of Custom and Example and the pleasant temptations of flesh and blood but had they had a clear and undoubted Revelation from God and had certainly known these things to be his Will this would have conquered and born down all Objections and Temptations to the contrary or if it had not would have stopt their mouths and taken away all excuse from them There is some colour in this plea that in many cases they did not know certainly what the Will of God was but for us who own a clear Revelation from God and profess to believe it what can we say for our selves to mitigate the severity of God toward us why he should not pour forth all his wrath and execute upon us the fierceness of his anger Thirdly The neglect of God's will when we know it cannot be without a great deal of wilfulness and contempt If we know it and do it not the fault is solely in our wills and the more wilful any sin is the more hainously wicked is it There can hardly be a greater aggravation of a Crime than if it proceed from meer obstinacy and perverseness and if we know it to be our Lord's Will and do it not we are guilty of the highest contempt of the greatest Authority in the World And do we think this to be but a small aggravation to affront the great Soveraign and Judge of the World not only to break his Laws but to trample upon them and despise them when we know whose Laws they are Will we provoke the Lord to jealousie are we stronger than he We believe that it is God who said Thou shalt not commit Adultery thou shalt not Steal thou shalt not bear false witness against thy Neighbour thou shalt not hate or oppress or defraud thy Brother in any thing but thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self and will we notwithstanding venture to break these Laws knowing whose Authority they are stampt withal After this contempt of him what favour can we hope for from him what can we say for our selves why any one of those many stripes which are threatned should be abated to us Ignosci aliquatenus ignorantiae potest contemptus veniam non habet Something may be pardoned to ignorance but contempt can expect no forgiveness He that strikes his Prince not knowing him to be so hath something to say for himself that tho' he did a disloyal act yet it did not proceed from a disloyal Mind but he that first acknowledgeth him for his Prince and then affronts him deserves to be prosecuted with the utmost severity because he did it wilfully and in meer contempt The knowledge of our Duty and that it is the will of God which we go against takes away all possible excuse from us for nothing can be said why we should offend him who hath both Authority to command us and Power to destroy us And thus I have as briefly as I could represented to you the true ground and reason of the aggravation of those Sins which are committed against the clear knowledge of God's Will and our Duty because this knowledge is so great an advantage to the doing of our Duty so great an obligation upon us to it and because the neglect of our Lord's Will in this case cannot be without great wilfulness and a down-right contempt of his Authority And shall I now need to tell you how much it concerns every one of us to live up to that knowledge which we have of our Lord's Will and to prepare our selves to do according to it to be always in a readiness and disposition to do what we know to be his Will and actually to do it when there is occasion and opportunity And it concerns us the more because we in this Age and Nation have so many advantages above a great part of the World of coming to the knowledge of our Duty We enjoy the clearest and most perfect Revelation which God ever made of his Will to Mankind and have the light of Divine Truth plentifully shed amongst us by the free use of the holy Scriptures which is not a sealed Book to us but lies open to be read and studied by us this Spiritual Food is rained down like Manna round about our Tents and every one may gather so much as is sufficient we are not stinted nor have the word of God given out to
us in broken pieces or mixt and adulterated here a Lesson of Scripture and there a Legend but whole and entire sincere and uncorrupt God hath not left us as he did the Heathen for many Ages to the imperfect and uncertain direction of Natural Light nor hath he revealed his Will to us as he did to the Jews in dark Types and Shadows but hath made a clear discovery of his Mind and Will to us The Dispensation which we are under hath no vail upon it the Darkness is past and the true Light now shineth we are of the Day and of the Light and therefore it may justly be expected that we should put off the Works of Darkness and walk as Children of the Light Every degree of knowledge which we have is an aggravation of the Sins committed against it and when our Lord comes to pass Sentence upon us will add to the number of our stripes Nay if God should inflict no positive torment upon Sinners yet their own Minds would deal most severely with them upon this account and nothing will gall their Consciences more than to remember against what Light they did offend For herein lies the very nature and sting of all guilt to be conscious to our selves that we knew what we ought to have done and did it not The Vices and Corruptions which reigned in the World before will be pardonable in comparison of ours The times of that ignorance God winked at but now he commands all Men every where to Repent Mankind had some excuse for their Errors before and God was pleased in a great measure to overlook them but if we continue still in our sins we have no cloak for them All the degrees of Light which we enjoy are so many Talents committed to us by our Lord for the improving whereof he will call us to a strict account for unto whomsoever much is given of him much shall be required and to whom he hath committed much of him he will ask the more And nothing is more reasonable than that Men should account for all the advantages and opportunities they have had of knowing the Will of God and that as their knowledge was increased so their sorrow and punishment should proportionably rise if they sin against it The ignorance of a great part of the World is deservedly pitied and lamented by us but the Condemnation of none is so sad as of those who having the knowledge of God's Will neglect to do it how much better had it been for them not to have kuown the way of righteousness than after they have known it to turn from the holy Commandment delivered unto them If we had been born and brought up in ignorance of the true God and his Will we had had no sin in comparison of what now we have but now that we see our sin remains This will aggravate our Condemnation beyond measure that we had the knowledge of Salvation so clearly revealed to us Our Duty lies plainly before us we know what we ought to do and what manner of Persons we ought to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness We believe the coming of our Lord to Judgment and we know not how soon He may be revealed from Heaven with his Mighty Angels not only to take vengeance on them that know not God but on them that have known him and yet obey not the Gospel of his Son And if all this will not move us to prepare our selves to do our Lord's Will we deserve to have our stripes multiplied No Condemnation can be too heavy for those who offend against the clear knowledge of God's Will and their Duty Let us then be perswaded to set upon the practice of what we know let the light which is in our Understandings descend upon our Hearts and Lives let us not dare to continue any longer in the practice of any known Sin nor in the neglect of any thing which we are convinced is our Duty and if our hearts condemn us not neither for the neglect of the means of Knowledge nor for rebelling against the Light of God's Truth shining in our Minds and glaring upon our Consciences then have we confidence towards God but if our hearts condemn us God is greater than our hearts and knows all things SERMON XIV The Sins of Men not chargeable upon God but upon themselves JAMES I. 13 14. Let no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for God cannot be tempted with evil neither tempteth he any Man But every Man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed NEXT to the Belâ—ef of a God and his Providence there is nothing more Fundamentally necessary to the practice of a good Life than the belief of these two Principles That God is not the Author of Sin and That every Man's Sin lies at his own door and he hath reason to blame himself for all the evil that he does First That God is not the Author of Sin that he is no way accessary to our faults either by tempting or forcing us to the Commission of them For if he were they would neither properly be Sins nor could they be justly punished They would not properly be Sins for Sin is a contradiction to the Will of God but supposing Men to be either tempted or necessitated thereto that which we call Sin would either be a meer passive Obedience to the Will of God or an active Compliance with it but neither way a contradiction to it Nor could these actions be justly punished for all punishment supposeth a fault and a fault supposeth liberty and freedom from force and necessity so that no Man can be justly punished for that which he cannot help and no Man can help that which he is necessitated and compel'd to And tho' there were no force in the case but only temptation yet it would be unreasonable for the same person to tempt and punish For as nothing is more contrary to the holiness of God than to tempt Men to Sin so nothing can be more against justice and goodness than first to draw Men into a fault and then to chastize them for it So that this is a Principle which lies at the bottom of all Religion That God is not the Author of the Sins of Men. And then Secondly That every Man's fault lies at his own door and he has reason enough to blame himself for all the evil that he does And this is that which makes Men properly guilty that when they have done amiss they are conscious to themselves it was their own act and they might have done otherwise and guilt is that which makes Men liable to punishment and fear of punishment is the great restraint from Sin and one of the principal Arguments for Virtue and Obedience And both these Principles our Apostle St. James does here fully assert in the words which I have read unto you Lâ—t no Man say when he is tempted I am tempted of God for
the Lord thy God require of thee c. The First being a meer question there needs no more to be said of it only that it is a question of great importance What is the most effectual way to appease God when we have offended him For who can bear his indignation and who who can stand before him when once he is angry Let us consider then in the Second place the way that Men are apt to take to pacifie God and that is by some external piece of Religion and Devotion such as were Sacrifices among the Jews and Heathen Shall I come before him with Burnt-offerings This is the way which Men are most apt to chuse The Jews you seâ— pitched upon the external parts of their Religion those which were most pompous and solemn the richest and most costly Sacrifices so they might but keep their Sins they were well enough content to offer up any thing else to God they thought nothing too good for him provided he would not oblige them to become better And thus it is among our selves when we apprehend God is displeased with us and his Judgments abroad in the Earth we are content to do any thing but to learn Righteousness we are willing to submit to any kind of external Devotion and Humiliation to Fast and Pray to afflict our selves and to cry mightily unto God things some of them good in themselves but the least part of that which God requires of us And as for the Church of Rome in case of publick Judgments and Calamities they are the inquisitive and as they pretend the most skilful People in the world to pacifie God and they have a thousand solemn devices to this purpose I do not wrong them by representing them enquiring after this manner Shall I go before a Crucifix and bow my self to it as to the high God And because the Lord is a great King and it is perhaps too much boldness and arrogance to make immediate Addresses always to him to which of the Saints or Angels shall I go to mediate for me and intercede on my behalf Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Pater-Nosters or with ten thousands of Ave-Marys Shall the Host travel in procession or my self undâ—rtake a tedious Pilgrimage Or shall I list my self a Souldier for the Holy War or for the Extirpation of Hereticks Shall I give half my Estate to a Convent for my Transgression or chastise and punish my Body for the Sin of my Soul Thus Men deceive themselves and will submit to all the extravagant Severities that the Petulancy and Folly of Men can devise and impose upon them And indeed it is not to be imagined when Men are once under the Power of Superstition how ridiculous they may be and yet think themselves religious how prodigiously they may play the Fool and yet believe they please God what cruel and barbarous things they may do to themselves and others and yet be verily perswaded they do God good Service And what is the Mystery of all this but that Men are loath to do that without which nothing else that we do is acceptable to God They hate to be reformed and for this Reason they will be content to do any Thing rather than be put to the Trouble of Mending themselves every thing is easie in comparison of this Task and God may have any Terms of them so he will let them be quiet in their Sins and excuse them from the real Virtues of a Good Life And this brings me to the Third Thing which I principally intended to speak to The Course which God himself directs to and which will effectually pacifie him He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love Mercy and to walk humbly with thy God In the handling of which I shall First Consider those several Duties which God here requires of us and upon the Performance of which he will be pacified towards us Secondly By what Ways and Means God hath discovered these Duties to us and the Goodness of them He hath shewed thee O Man what is good c. I. We will briefly consider the several Duties which God here requires of us and upon the Performance of which he will be pacified towards us What doth the Lord require of thee but to do Justly and to love Mercy and to walk humbly with thy God It was usual among the Jews to reduce all the Duties of Religion to these three Heads Justice Mercy and Piety under the first two comprehending the Duties which we owe to one another and under the third the Duties which we owe to God 1. Justice And I was going to tell you what it is but I considered that every Man knows it as well as any Definition can explain it to him I shall only put you in mind of some of the principal Instances of it and the several Virtues comprehended under it And First Justice is concerned in the making of Laws that they be such as are equal and reasonable useful and beneficial for the Honour of God and Religion and for the publick good of Humane Society This is a great Trust in the discharge of which if Men be byassed by Favour or Interest and drawn aside from the Consideration and Regard of the publick Good it is a far greater Crime and of worse Consequence than any private Act of Injustice between Man and Man And then Justice is also concerned in the due Execution of Laws which are the Guard of private Property the Security of Publick Peace and of Religion and Good Manners And Lastly In the Observance of Laws and Obedience to them which is a Debt that every Man owes to Humane Society But more especially Justice is concerned in the Observance of those Laws whether of God or Man which respect the Rights of Men and their mutual Commerce and Intercourse with one another That we use Honesty and Integrity in all our Dealings in Opposition to Fraud and Deceit Truth and Fidelity in Opposition to Falshood and Breach of Trust Equity and good Conscience in Opposition to all kind of Oppression and Exaction These are the principal Branches and Instances of this great and comprehensive Duty of Justice the Violation whereof is so much the greater Sin because this Virtue is the firmest Bond of Humane Society upon the Observation whereof the Peace and Happiness of Mankind does so much depend 2. Mercy which does not only signifie the inward Affection of Pity and Compassion towards those that are in Misery and Necessity but the Effects of it in the actual Relief of those whose Condition calls for our Charitable Help and Assistance By feeding the Hungry and cloathing the Naked and visiting the Sick and vindicating the Oppressed and comforting the afflicted and ministring Ease and Relief to them if it be in our Power And this is a very lovely Virtue and argues more Goodness in Men than mere Justice
doth For Justice is a strict Debt but Mercy is Favour and Kindness And this perhaps may be the Reason of the different Expressions in the Text that when God barely commands us to do justly he requires we should love Mercy that is take a particular Pleasure and Delight in the Exercise of this Virtue which is so proper and agreeable to Mankind that we commonly call it Humanity giving it its Name from our very Nature In short it is so excellent a Virtue that I should be very sorry that any Religion should be able to pretend to the Practice of it more than our own 3. Piety To walk humbly with thy God To walk humbly in the fear of the Lord so the Chaldee Paraphrase renders these Words And this Phrase may comprehend all those Acts of Religion which refer immediately to God A firm Belief of his Being and Perfections an awful Sense of him as the dread Soveraign and righteous Judge of the World a due Regard to his Service and a reverent Behaviour of our selves towards him in all Acts of Worship and Religion in Opposition to Atheism and a Prophane Neglect and Contempt of God and Religion a new and monstrous kind of Impiety which of late Years hath broke in upon us and got head among us not only contrary to the Example of former Ages but in Despight of the very Genius and Temper of the Nation which is naturally devout and zealous in Religion Or else this Phrase of walking humbly with God may refer more particularly to the Posture and Condition of the People of Israel at that time who were fallen under the heavy Displeasure of God for their Sins And then the Duty required is that being sensible how highly God hath been offended by us by the general Corruption and Viciousness of the Age which like a Leprosie hath spread it self almost over the whole Body of the Nation and by that open Lewdness and those insolent Impieties which are daily committed amongst us I say that being deeply sensible of this we do with all Humility acknowledge our Sins to God and repent of them and implore his Mercy and Forgiveness and resolve by his grace to turn every one from the evil of our ways and from the wickedness that is in our hands which God grant we may every one do this Day according to the pious design and intention of it And if we be sincere in this Resolution who can tell but God may turn and repent and turn away his anger from us that we perish not Nay we have great reason to believe that he will be pacified towards us So he hath declared Isa 1. 16. Wash ye make you clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless plead for the widdow come now and let us reason together saith the Lord though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow though they be red like crimson they shall be as wooll But if we continue unreformed God will say to us as he does there to the people of Israel To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me your calling of Assemblies I cannot away with it is iniquity even the solemn meeting and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you when ye make many prayers I will not hear To which let me add that excellent Saying of the Son of Syrach to this purpose Ecclesiastic 34. 25 26. He that washeth himself after the touching of a dead body if he touch it again what availeth his washing So is it with a Man that fasteth for his Sins and goeth again and doth the same things Who will hear his Prayer or what doth his humbling profit him II. Let us consider by what ways and means God hath made known these Duties to us and the goodness and the obligation of them He hath shewed thee O Man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee I shall mention Five ways whereby God hath discovered this to us 1. By a kind of natural Instinct 2. By natural Reason 3. By the general vote and consent of Mankind 4. By external Revelation 5. By the inward Dictates and Motions of God's Spirit upon the Minds of Men. First By a kind of natural Instinct by which I mean a secret impression upon the Minds of Men whereby they are naturally carried to approve some things as good and fit and to dislike other things as having a native evil and deformity in them And this I call a natural Instinct because it does not seem to proceed so much from the exercise of our Reason as from a natural propension and inclination like those Instincts which are in Brute Creatures of natural affection and care towards their young ones And that these Inclinations are precedent to all reason and discourse about them evidently appears by this that they do put forth themselves every whit as vigorously in young persons as in those of riper Reason in the rude and ignorant sort of People as in those who are more polish'd and refin'd For we see plainly that the young and ignorant have as strong impressions of Piety and Devotion as true a sense of gratitude and justice and pity as the wiser and more knowing part of Mankind A plain indication that the Reason of Mankind is prevented by a kind of natural instinct and anticipation concerning the good or evil the comeliness or deformity of these things And though this do not equally extend to all the instances of our Duty yet as to the great lines and essential parts of it Mankind hardly need to consult any other Oracle than the meer propensions and inclinations of their Nature as whether we ought to reverence the Divine Nature to be grateful to those who have conferred benefits upon us to speak the truth to be faithful to our promise to restore that which is committed to us in trust to pity and relieve those that are in misery and in all things to do to others as we would have them do to us And this will further appear if we consider these two things 1. That Men are naturally innocent or guilty to themselves according to what they do in these things So the Apostle tells us Rom. 2. 14 15. When the Gentiles which have not the Law do by nature the things contained in the Law these having not the Law are a Law unto themselves and do shew the effect of the Law written in their hearts their Consciences also bearing witness and their thoughts by turns that is according as they do well or ill accusing or excusing them There is a secret comfort in innocence and a strange pleasure and satisfaction in being acquitted by our own Minds for what we do But on the contrary when we contradict these natural Dictates what uneasiness do we find in our own breasts Nay even before the
and not Sacrifice which Saying is quoted by him out of the Prophet Hosea chap. 6. 6. I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God more than burnt Offerings which Text our Saviour cites and applies upon two several Occasions the considering and comparing of which will give full Light to the true meaning of it The First is here in the Text upon occasion of the Pharisees finding Fault with him for conversing with Publicans and Sinners the other is Matth. 12. 7. where the Pharisees blaming the Disciples of our Saviour for plucking the Ears of Corn on the Sabbath day our Saviour tells them if ye had known what this meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice ye would not have comdemned the guiltless that is if they had understood the true Nature of Religion and what Duties of it are chiefly and in the first place to be regarded they would not have been so forward to censure this Action of his Disciples So that the plain meaning of this Saying is this that in comparing the parts of Religion and the Obligation of Duties together those Duties which are of moral and natural Obligation are most valued by God and ought to take place of those which are positive and ritual I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice that is rather than Sacrifice according to the true meaning of this Hebrew Phrase which is to be understood in a comparitive Sense as is evident from the Text it self in Hosea I desired mercy and not sacrifice and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings if they cannot be observed together let Sacrifice be neglected and the work of Mercy be done And the Reason of this seems very plain because shewing Mercy or doing Good in any kind is a prime Instance of those moral Duties which do naturally and perpetually oblige but Sacrifice is an instance of positive and ritual Observances and one of the chief of the kind so that when moral Duties and ritual Observances come in Competition and do clash with one another the Observation of a Rite or positive Institution is to give way to a moral Duty and it is no Sin in that case to neglect the Observation of such a Rite yea though it were commanded and appointed by God himself And though this may seem to be a breach of the letter of the Law yet it is according to the true mind and meaning of the Law it being a tacit condition implyed in all Laws of a ritual and positive Nature provided the observance of them be not to the hindrance and prejudice of any Duty which is of a higher and better nature in that case the Obligation of it does for that time give way and is suspended And this will appear to be the true meaning of this Rule by comparing more particularly the Instances to which our Saviour applies it His Disciples passing through the Corn on the Sabbath Day and being hungry pluckt the Ears and did eat this our Saviour does justifie to be no Breach of the Law of the Sabbath because in that case and in such Circumstances it did not oblige for the Disciples being call'd to attend upon our Saviour to be instructed by him in the things which concerned the Kingdom of God that is in the Doctrine of the Gospel which they were to publish to the World this Attendance hindred them from making necessary Provisions against the Sabbath they in obedience to their Master being intent upon a better Work but that they might not starve the necessities of Nature must be provided for and therefore it was fit that the Law of the Sabbath which was but positive and ritual should give way to an act of Mercy and Self-preservation If ye had known what this meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice ye would not have condemned the guiltless And the reason is the same as to any instrumental part of Religion by which I mean any thing which may be a means to promote Piety and Goodness as Prayer hearing the Word of God keeping good Company and avoiding bad the Duties of this kind our Saviour here in the Text where he likewise applies this Rule compares with moral Duties To avoid the Company of vicious and wicked Persons is a good means to preserve men from the contagion of their Vices and was always esteemed a Duty among prudent men both Jews and Heathens and is in no wise disallowed by our Saviour but yet not so a Duty as to hinder a greater Duty nor so strictly and perversely to be insisted upon as if one ought not to converse with bad Men in any Case or upon any Account no not for so great and good an end as to reclaim them from their Vices In this Case we ought to consider that our first and highest obligation is to moral Duties comprehended under the love of God and our Neighbour among which one of the chief is to do good to Men and to shew Mercy and Pity to those that are in Misery and the greatest good that one Man can do to another is to be instrumental to reclaim him from the Evil and Error of his Way because this is to save his soul from death and we cannot imagine that God ever intended by any Rule of prudence or positive Constitution of the Jewish Law so to forbid their accompaning with bad and scandalous Men that it should be unlawful to converse with them in order to their Recovery and Amendment Go ye and learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice And St. Paul was of the same mind in the Precepts he gives concerning avoiding the Company of scandalous Christians 2 Thes 3. 14 15. and if any man obey not our word by this Epistle note that man and have no Company with him that he may be ashamed yet count him not as an enemy but admonish him as a brother St. Paul qualifies his Precept lest Christians should mistake it and fall into the Jewish extream not to converse with those whom they esteemed scandalous and wicked upon any account whatsoever no not in order to their Amendment and Reformation The Bond of Intimacy and Friendship with bad Men ought to be broken and yet the Bond of common Humanity may be as strong as ever It is one thing to discountenance bad Men to bring them to Shame and a Sense of their Fault and quite another thing to abandon them to Ruin and even in case of notorious Heresie or wickedness of Life it is one thing to cut them off from the Society and Communion of Christians and quite another to cut them off from Humane Society to cut their Throats and to extirpate them out of the World And yet the matter was carried thus far by the furious Zeal of the Jews when Christianity first appeared in the World they thought that no Mercy in such Cases was the best Service that could be done and the best Sacrifice that could be offered to Almighty God and
will I think be very plain from these following Considerations First That the Judicial or Ceremonial Laws of the Jews were to pass away and did so not long after but this Law which our Saviour speaks of was to be perpetual and immutable for he tells us that Heaven and Earth should pass away but one jot or one title of this Law should not pass Secondly The observation of the Law our Saviour speaks of consisted in such things as the Scribes and Pharisees neglected for he tells his Disciples upon this occasion that except their righteousness did exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees they should in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven But now the Scribes and Pharisees were the most accurate and punctual People in the World in observing the Precepts of the Judicial and Ceremonial Law they were so far from taking away any thing from these observances that they had added to them and enlarged them by innumerable Traditions of their own so exact were they that they would pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin as our Saviour observes but then they were extreamly defective in Moral Duties they were unnatural to their Parents and would pretend that their Estates were consecrated to God that under this pretence of positive Religion they might excuse themselves from a Natural Duty and let their Parents starve for God's sake they were Covetous and Unjust and devoured Widows houses in a word our Saviour tells us they neglected the weightier Matters of the Law Mercy Judgment and the love of God and keeping faith with Men so that it is in these things that our Saviour means that our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees viz. in the practice of Moral Duties which were neglected by them and consequently 't is the Moral Law which our Saviour came to confirm and establish Thirdly If we consider the instances which our Saviour gives in his following discourse by which we may best judge what he means He instances in Murder and Adultery and Perjury which are undoubtedly forbidden by the natural Law and then he iâ—stances in several Permissions which were indulged to them for the Hardness of their Hearts but yet did intrench upon the Dictates of right Reason and the first and original Constitution of things as the permission of Divorce upon every slight occasion and of Revenge and Retaliation of Injuries Fourthly If we consider that by the Law and the Prophets our Saviour means that which was principally designed and ultimately intended by them which was the Observation of moral Duties which as they were written in the two Tables by the immediate Finger of God himself so are chiefly inculcated by the Propheâ—s And so we find this Phrase of the Law and the Prophets elsewhere used by our Saviour when he mentions that great Rule of Equity that we should do to others as we would have them do to us Matth. 7. 12. Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that Men should do to you do ye even so to them for this is the Law and the Prophets But how was this the Law and the Prophets when this Rule was never so much as mentioned in either Our Saviour means that this is the Foundation of all those Duties of Justice and Mercy which are so much inculcated in the Law and the Prophets So that our Saviour makes the Observation of moral Duties to be the principal Design of the Jewish Law and as it were the Foundation of it and therefore he calls moral Duties 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the weightier matters of the Law Matth. 23. 23. But ye says he to the Scribes and Pharisees have neglected the weightier things of the Law judgment and mercy and fidelity The Scribes and Pharisees busied themselves chiefly about ritual Observances but our Saviour tells them that those other were the most considerable and important Duties of the Law and lay at the bottom of the Jewish Religion And much the same enumeration the Prophet makes where he compares Sacrifices and these moral Duties together Mic. 6. 6 7 8. Wherewith â—hall I come before the Lord and bow my self before the high God Shall I come before him with burnt offerings with Calves of a year old Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of Rams or with ten thousands of rivers of Oyl Shall I give my first born for my transgression the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul He hath shewed thee O man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God He had required Sacrifices but had no regard to them in comparison with these II. No Instituted Service of God no positive part of Religion whatsoever was ever acceptable to God when moral Duties were neglected nay so far from being acceptable to him that he rejects them with Disdain and Abhorrence To this purpose there are almost innumerable Passages in the Prophets Isa 1. 11. c. To what purpose is the multitude of your Sacrifices unto me When ye come to appear before me who hath required this at your hands to tread my Courts Bring no more vain Oblations incense is an Abomination to me the new moons and sabbaths the calling of assemblies I cannot away with it is Iniquity even the solemn meeting and when ye spread forth your hands I will hide mine eyes from you when ye make many prayers I will not hear What is the reason of all this Because they were defective in the moral Duties of Religion so it follows your hands are full of Blood wash ye make ye clean put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes cease to do evil learn to do well seek judgment relieve the oppressed judge the fatherless plead for the Widow come now and let us reason together saith the Lord implying that till they had respect to moral Duties all their external Worship and Sacrifices signified nothing And so likewise Isa 66. 3. He tells them that nothing could be more abomible than their Sacrifices so long as they allowed themselves in wicked Practises He that killeth an Ox is as if he slew a Man he that sacrificeth a Lamb as if he cut off a Dog's neck he that offereth an Oblation as if he offered Swine's Blood and he that burneth Incense as if he blessed an Idol yea they have chosen their own ways and their Soul delighteth in their Abominations And to mention but one Text more out of the Old Testament Jer. 7. 4 5. Trust ye not in lying words saying the temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord are these Throughly amend your ways and your doings throughly execute Judgment between a man and his neighbour oppress â—ot the stranger the fatherless and the widow and shed not innocent blood If they did not practise these Duties and forbear those Sins all the reverence for the temple and the
worship of God signified nothing You see in the Jewish Religion what it was that was acceptable to God for it self and its own sake viz. the practice of moral Duties and that all Instituted Religion that did not promote and further these or was destitute of them was abominable to God And under the Gospel our Saviour prefers a moral Duty before any gift we can offer to God and will have it to take place Mat. 5. 23 24. If thou bring thy gift unto the Altar and there remembrest that thy Brother hath ought against thee leave there thy gift before the Altar and go thy way first be reconciled to thy Brother and then come and offer thy gift But it should seem by this and what haâ—h been said before that God prefers Goodness and Righteousness to Men before his own Worship and obedience to the Precepts of the Second Table before obedience to those of the First But this does but seem so all that can be collected from this passage of our Saviour or any thing that hath been already said are only these two Things 1. That God prefers the practice of the Moral Duties of the second Table before any instituted Worship such as Sacrifâ—ce was and before obedience to the Laws of Religion which are meerly positive tho' they do immediately concern the Worship of God 2. That if we neglect the Duties of the second Table of Goodness and Righteousness towards Men God will not accept of our obedience to the Precepts of the first nor of any act of Religious Worship that we can perform This our Saviour means when he says leave there thy gift before the Altar first be reconciled to thy Brother then come and offer thy gift intimating that so long as we bear a revengeful mind towards our Brethren God will not accept of any Gift or Sacrifice that we can offer to him or indeed of any act of Religious Worship that we can perform Thirdly The great Design of the Christian Religion is to restore and reinforce the practice of the natural Law or which is all one of Moral Duties and therefore our Saviour begins his first Sermon by promising Blessedness to the practice of these Duties of Purity and Meekness and Righteousness and Peaceableness and Mercifulness and Patience and Submission to the will of God under Persecutions and Sufferings for Righteousness sake and tells us as I shew'd before that he came not to release Men from the practice of these Duties but to oblige them thereto more effectually and that as these were the Law and the Prophets that is the main Duties and the Foundation of the Jewish Religion so were they much more to be so of the Christian This the Scriptures of the New Testament do every where declare to be the great design of the Gospel and the Christian Religion to instruct us in these Duties and to engage us effectually to the practice of them In that known and excellent Text Tit. 2. 11 12â— The grace of God which is in and by the Doctrine of the Gospel hath appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldy lusts we should live soberly righteously and godlily in this present world And herein St. James tell us the true nature and the force and vertue of the Christian Religion doth consist Jam. 1. 27. pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and the Widows in their â—ffliction and to keep our selves unspotted from the World And Chap. 3. 17. The wisdom which is from above that is that Heavenly and Divine Knowledge revealed to us by the Gospel hath these Properties and is apt to produce these effects it is first pure and then peaceable gentle and easie to be intreated full of mercy and of good fruits And the planting of these dispositions in us is that which the Scripture calls the new Creature and the Image of God Eph. 4. 20 c. The Apostle speaking there of the Vices and Lusts wherein the Gentiles lived tells Christians that they were otherwise instructed by the Gospel but ye have not so learned Christ if so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him as the truth is in Jesus that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man which is corâ—upt according to deceitful Lusts and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness or as the words perhaps may better be rendred in the holiness of truth for it immediately follows wherefore putting away lying speak every man truth with his Neighbour And this is that which the Apostle elsewhere makes to be all in all in the Christian Religion In Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature Gal. 6. 15. which the Apostle in the Chapter before expresseth thus in Christ Jesus neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but Faith which worketh or is inspired by Charity And yet more expresly 1 Cor. 7. 19. Circumcision is nothing and Uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the Commandments of God By the comparing of which Texts it appears that the main thing in Christianity is the practice of Moral Duties and this is the new Creature and this the proper effect of the Christian Faith to produce these Virtues in us And indeed the great Design of the Christian Religion and every thing in it of the love of God in giving his Son to die for us of the pardon of our Sins and justification in his blood of all the Promises and Threatnings of the Gospel and of the assistance therein promised is to engage and encourage and enable to the practice of Moraâ— Duties And thus I have done with the first thing I proposed to speak to namely that Natural Religion is the Foundation of Instituted and Revealed Religion and all Revealed Religion does suppose it and builds upon it I proceed to the Second Namely That no Revealed and Instituted Religion was ever designed to take away the obligation of Natural Duties but was intended to confirm and establish them And this also will be evident if we consider these three Things 1. That all Revealed Religion calls Men to the practice of Natural Duties Thus the Jewish Religion did The first Laws which God gave them and which hâ— distinguish'd from the rest by writing them in Tables of Stone with his own Finger were the Precepts of the Moral Law And the great business of the Prophets whom God raised up among them from time to time was to reprove not so much their defects in their Sacrifices and in the Duties of Instituted Worship as the breach of the natural Law by their Vices and Immoralities and to threaten them with the Judgments of God if they did not reform and amend these faults And now under the Gospel the preceptive part of it is almost wholly made up of Moral
put to Death because they could not understand this hardword and believe this impossible thing And yet if the supremacy of the Pope were clearly of Divine Right and the Doctrine of Transubstantiation as plain as the institution of the Sacrament yet these being but positive matters in Religion there would be no reason to kill men for not understanding and believing these things nay it would be contrary to Religion to do it because the Law of Mercy and Humanity which is the Law of Nature ought not to be violated for the promoting of any positive institution and God hath plainly said that he will have mercy rather than Sacrifice yea rather than the Sacrifice of the Mass if it were what they pretend it is the offering of the natural body and blooâ— of Christ because it would be needless for Propitiation of Sin being once made by Christ's offering himself once for all upon the Cross there needs no more Sacrifice for Sin Nay I will go further yet I had rather never administer the Sacrament nor ever receive it than take away any Man's Life about it because the Sacrament is but a positive Rite and Institution of the Christian Religion and God prefers Mercy which is a Duty of natural Religion before any Rite or Institution whatsoever Besides that all acts of Malice and Cruelty are directly contrary to the particular Nature and Design of this blessed Sacrament which is to commemorate the Sufferings of the Son of God for our sakes and to give us an example of the greatest Love that ever was and thereby to excite us to the Imitation of it 2. What hath been said gives us a right Notion and Character of that Church and Religion which prefers the positive Rites and Institutions of Religion and the observance of them to those Duties which are of natural and Eternal Obligation Mercy and Goodness Fidelity and Justice and which for the sake of a pretended Article of Religion or Rite of Worship which if it were certain that they were revealed and instituted by God are yet meerly positive will break the greatest of God's Commandments and teach men so It is too plain to be denyed that the Principles and Precepts of natural Religion were never so effectually undermined and the Morality of the Christian Religion never so intolerably corrupted and debauched by any thing that ever yet had the face of Religion in the World as by the allowed Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome and this out of a blind and furious Zeal for some Imaginary Doctrines and Rites of the Christian Religion which at the best are of meer positive Institution and of the same rank among Christians that Sacrifices were in the Jewish Religion For which we need go no further for an instance than in the Occasion of thâ—s Day 's Solemnity upon which Day about fourscore years ago there was designed a mighty Sacrifice indeed the greatest and richest burnt-offering that ever was pretended to be offered up to Almighty God by those of any Religion whatsoever not the blood of Bulls and Goats but of King and Princes and Nobles more in value than thousands of Rams and ten thousands of Rivers of Oyl than all the Beasts of the Forrest and the Cattle upon a thousand Hills Here was a prodigious Sacrifice indeed but where was Mercy the thing God chiefly desires and which above all other things is acceptable to him no Mercy not even to those of their own Religion whom these nice and tender Casuists after a solemn debate of the Case had resolved to involve in the same common Destruction with the rest rather no mercy than that this Sacrificewhich their mad zeal had prompted them to should be omitted To conclude They that can do such inhumane things and think them to be Religion do not understand the nature of it but had need to be taught the first Rudiments of natural Religion that natural Duties are not to be violated upon pretence no nor for the sake of positive Institutions because natural Religion is the Foundation of that which is instituted and therefore to violate any natural Duty for the sake of that which is instituted is for Religion to undermine and blow up it self Let those who do such things and teach men so go and learn what that meaneth I will have Mercy and not Sacrifice SERMON III. Christianity doth not destroy but perfect the Law of Moses MATTHEW V. 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law or the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfil THERE is no Saying in the whole Gospel which the Jews did so frequently object to the Christians as this of our Blessed Saviour as if his Words and Actions were plainly repugnant and contrary to one another for when it is evident say they that he took away so many Ceremonies Purifications Distinctions of Meats Sacrifices Judicial Laws and many other things yet he says he came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets so that it is plain that he did throw down the Law of Moses and in so doing contradicted his own Saying that he did not intend to destroy the Law To clear our Saviour's words of this Objection it will be requâ—site to consider the Scope and Design of his Discourse in this Chapter by which we shall fully understand the sence and meaning of these Words in the Text. Our Saviour in this Sermon which contains the Sum and Substance of his Religion doth earnestly recommend to his Disciples and Followers and strictly enjoyns the perfect Practice of all Goodness and Virtue declaring to them that he came to bring in and establish that Righteousness which the Jewish Religion indeed aimed at but through the Weakness and Imperfection of that Dispensation was not able to effect and accomplish And to take away all suspicion of a Design to contradict the former Revelations of God made to the Jews by Moses and the Prophets or to destroy their Divine Authority by carrying on a Design contrary to them I say to prevent any imagination of this kind he does here in the Text expresly declare the contrary Think not c. Intimating that some either did or at least might be apt to suspect that his Design was to destroy the obligation of the Law and to undermine the Authority of Moses and the Prophets to free them from this jealousie he declares plainly that he had no such thought and intention it was far from him I am not come to destroy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to abrogate or dissolve the Law to encourage Men to the breach and violation of it for the word is of the same sense with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at the 19. ver whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and with 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Rom. 3. 31. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 do we then make void the Law by Faith Which is the same question with that of the same Apostle Gal. 3. 21. Is the Law
excellent being filled with the fruits of Righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and the praise of God Phil. 1. 10 11. Whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue if there be any praise mind these things Ch. 4. 8. And then considering what abundant provision the Gospel hath made for our attainment of Everlasting Salvation we are altogether without excuse if we perish Since God hath raised up so mighty a Salvation for us how shall we escape If we die in our Sins it is not because God would not forgive them but because we would not Repent and be Saved the fault is all our own and we owe it wholly to our selves if we be lost and undone for ever If when Life and Death Heaven and Hell are so plainly set before us Eternal Misery and Perdition fall to our Lot and Portion it is not because we were not warned of our Danger or because Happiness and the things of our Peace were hid from our eyes but because we have made Death and Destruction our obstinate and final Choice But Beloved I hope better things of you and things which accompany Salvation tho' I thus speak Only let your Conversation be as becometh the Gospel of Christ and if we be careful to perform the Conditions which the Gospel requires on our part we shall not fail to be made Partakers of that Eternal Life which God that cannot lie hath promised to us for his Mercy 's sake in Jesus Christ SERMON V. Of the Nature of Regeneration and its Necessity in order to Justification and Salvation GALAT. VI. 15. For in Christ Jesus neither Circumciston availeth any thing nor Uncircumcision but a new Creature THERE are two Epistles of St. Paul namely that to the Romans and this to the Galatians which are principally and particularly design'd to confute a false perswasion which had prevailed amongst many Christians especially those who were Converted from Judaism that it was not enough for Men to embrace and confess the Christian Religion unless they kept the Law of Moses or at least submitted to that great Precept of Circumcision the neglect whereof among all the affirmative Precepts of the Law was only threatned with excision or being cut off from among the People And of the prevalency of this Errour and the great disturbance which it made in the Christian Church we have a particular account Acts 15. where a General Council of the Apostles is call'd and a Letter written in their Names to all the Christian Churches to rectifie their apprehensions in this matter ver 24. of that Chap. For as much as we have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words subverting your Souls saying ye must be Circumcis'd and keep the Law to whom we gave no such Commandment c. And upon this occasion likewise it was that St. Paul wrote this Epistle to the Galatians as likewise that to the Romans in the former of which after he had at large confuted this Errour which he calls the preaching of another Gospel than what the Apostles had preached and the Christians first received In the beginning of the 5 th Chapt. he Exhorts them to assert the Liberty which Christ had purchas'd for them from the obligation of the Law of Moses ver 1 2. Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free and be not entangled again with the yoak of bondage Behold I Paul say unto you that if ye be Circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing Not that hereby he condemneth Circumcision as a thing evil in it self for God never Instituted or Commanded any thing that was so but he opposeth the opinion of the necessity of it to our Justification and Salvation when the Gospel had so plainly taken away the obligation and use of it and consequently to affirm still the necessity of it was really to renounce Christianity For if Judaism was still the way to Salvation Christianity was to no purpose and if Christianity be now the way then the obligation to the Jewish Religion was ceased To avoid the force of this Reasoning it was not enough for the false Apostles to say as it seems they did that Christians were not obliged universally to the whole Law of Moses but principally to the Law of Circumcision because Circumcision being the sign and badge of that Covenant whoever took that upon him did thereby own his obligation to the whole Law ver 3â— 4. For I testifie again to every Man that is Circumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole Law Christ is become of no effect to you whosoever of you are justified by the Law ye are fallen from Grace that is whoever of you expect and profess to be justified by the Law of Moses ye take away the necessity and use of the Christian Religion and are fallen from grace that is do in effect renounce the Gospel for we through the Spirit wait for the hope of Righteousness by Faith ver 5 we by the Spirit in opposition to Circumcision which was in the Flesh do expect to be justified by the belief of the Gospel For in Jesus Christ neither Circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision ver 6. that is now under the dispensation of the Gospel by Christ Jesus it signifies nothing to a Man's Justification or Salvation whether he be Circumcised or not Circumcised whether he be a Jew or a Gentile All that the Gospel requires as necessary to these purposes is that we perform the Conditions of the Gospel that so we may be capable of being made Partakers of the blessings of it Now as the great blessing and benefit of the Gospel is variously exprest as by the forgiveness of our sins by our acceptance with God or which compâ—ehends both by our Justification sometimes by Adoption and our beingâ— made the Sons and Children of God sometimes by Redemption and which is the consummation of all by Salvation and Eternal Life I say as the bleâ—sing and benefit of the Gospel is in Scripture exprest to us by these several terms which do in effâ—ct all signifie the same thing so our Duty and the Condition the Gospel requires on our part is likewise as variously exprest sometimes and that very frequently by the word Faith as being the great Source and Principle of all Religious Acts and Performances but then this Faith must not be a bare assent and perswasion of the Truth of the Gospel but such an effectual belief as expresseth it self in suitable acts of Obedience and Holiness such as the Apostle here calls 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Faith whick worketh by Love a Faith that is inspir'd and acted or rather consummate and made perfect by Charity for so the word doth often signifie and then this Phrase will be just of the same importance with
if ye know and do them Now to convince Men of so important a Truth I shall endeavour to make out these two things First That the Gospel makes the Practice of Religion a necessary Condition of our Happiness Secondly That the Nature and Reason of the thing makes it a necessary Qualification for it First The Gospel makes the Practice of Religion a necessary Condition of our Happiness Our Saviour in his first Sermon where he repeats the Promise of Blessedness so often he makes no promise of it to the meer knowledge of Religion but to the Habit and Practice of Christian Graces and Virtues of Meekness and Humility and Mercifulnâ—sâ— and Righteousness and Peaceableness and Pâ—râ—ty and Patience under Suffâ—rings and Persecutions for Righteousness sake And Matth. 7. 2. our Saviour doth most fully declare that the happinesâ— which he promises did not belong to those who made profession of his Name and were so well acquainted with his Doctrine as to be able to instruct others if themselves in the mean time did not practise it Not every one that â—aith unto me Lord Lord shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven but he that doth the will of my Father which is in Heaven Many will say unto me in that day Lord Lord have we not Prophesied in thy Name and in thy Name cast out Devils and done many wondrous works and then will I profess unto them I never knew you depart from me ye workers of Iniquity Tho' they profess to know him yet because their Lives were not answerable to the Knowledge which they had of him and his Doctrine he declares that he will not know them but bid them depart from him And then he goes on to shew that tho' a Man attend to the Doctrine of Christ and gain the knowledge of it yet if it do not descend into his Life and govern his Actions all that Man's hopes of Heaven are fond and groundless and only that Man's hopes of Heaven are well grounded who knows the Doctrine of Christ and does it Ver. 24. whosoever heareth these Sayings of mine and doth them I will liken him to a Wise Man who built his house upon a rock and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell not for it was founded upon a rocâ— and every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not shall be liken'd to a foolish Man who built his house upon the sand and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat upon that house and it fell and great was the fall of it Tho' a Man had a knowledge of Religion as great and perfect as that which Solomon had of Natural Things large as the sand upon the sea shore yet all thâ—s Knowledge separated from Practice would be like the sand also in another respect a weak Foundation for any Man to build his hopes â—f Happiness upon To the same purpose St. Paul speaks Rom. 2. 13. Not the hearers of the Law are just before God but the dâ—ers of the Law shall be justified So likewise St. James Chap. 1. 22. Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving your own selves and ver 25. Who 's looketh into the perfect Law of Libert that is the Law or Doctrine of the Gospel and continueth therein he being not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work this Man shall be blessed in his deed and therefore he adds that the truth and reality of Religion is to be measured by the effects of it in the government of our words and ordering of our Lives Ver. 26. If any Man among you seem to be religious and bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his own heart this Man's Religion is vain Pure Religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this to visit the Fatherless and Widow in their affâ—iction and to keep himself unspotted from the World Men talk of Religion and keep a great stir about it but nothing will pass for true Religion before God but the Virtuous and Charitable Actions of a good Life and God will accept no Man to Eternal Life upon any other Condition So the Apostle tells us most expresly Heb. 12. 14. Follow peace with all Men and holiness without which no Man shall see the Lord. Secondly As God hath made the Practice of Religion a necessary Condition of our Happiness so the very Nature and Reason of the thing makes it a necessary Qualification for it It is necessary that we become like to God in order to the enjoyment of him and nothing makes us like to God but the Practice of Holiness and Goodness Knowledge indeed is a Divine Perfection but that alone as it doth not render a Man like God so neither doth it dispose him for the enjoyment of him If a Man had the understanding of an Angel he might for all that be a Devil he that committeth sin is of the Devil and whatever Knowledge such a Man may have he is of a devilish temper and disposition but every one that doth righteousness is born of God By this we are like God and only by our likeness to him do we become capable of the â—ight and enjoyment of him therefore every Man that hopes to be Happy by the blessed â—ight of God in the next Life must endeavour after Holiness in this Life So the same Apostle tells us 1 John 3. 3. Every Man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure A wicked temper and disposition of Mind is in the very Nature of the thing utterly inconsistent with all reasonable hopes of Heaven Thus I have shewn that the Practice of Religion and the doing of what we know to be our Duty is the only way to Happiness And now the proper Inference from all this is to put Men upon the careful Practice of Religion Let no Man content himself with the Knowledge of his Duty unless he do it and to this purpose I shall briefly urge these three Considerations First This is the great End of all our Knowledge in Religion to practise what we know The knowledge of God and of our Duty hath so essential a respect to Practice that the Scripture will hardly allow it to be properly called Knowledge unless it have an influence upon our Lives 1 John 2. 3 4. Hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his Commandmentâ— He that saith I know him and keepeth not his Commandments is a Lyar and the truth is not in him Secondly Practice is the best way to increase and perfect our Knowledge Knowledge directs us in our Practice but Practice confirms and increaseth our Knowledge John 7. 17. If any Man will do the will of God he shall know of the Doctrine The best way to know God is to be like him our selves and to have the lively image of his Perfections imprinted upon our Souls and the best way to understand
the Christian Religion is seriously to set about the Practice of it this will give a Man a better Notion of Christianity than any Speculation can Thirdly without the Practice of Religion our Knowledge will be so far from being any furtherance and advantage to our Happiness that it will be one of the unhappiest aggravations of our misery He that is ignorant of his Duty hath some excuse to pretend for himself but he that understands the Christian Religion and does not live according to it hath no cloak for his sin The defects of our Knowledge unless they be gross and wilful will find an easie Pardon with God but the faults of our Lives shall be severely punisht when we knew our Duty and would not do it I will conclude with that of our Saviour Luke 12. 47 48. That Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes for unto whomsoever much is given of him much shall be required When we come into the other World no Consideration will sting us more and add more to the rage of our Torments than this that we did wickedly when we understood to have done better and chose to make our selves Miserable when we knew so well the way to have been Happy SERMON XIII Practice in Religion necessary in proportion to our Knowledge LUKE XII 47 48. And that Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes But he that knew not and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more IN prosecution of the Argument which I handled in my last Discourse namely that the Knowledge of our Duty without the Practice of it will not bring us to Happiness I shall proceed to shew that if our Practice be not answerable to our Knowledge this will be a great aggravation both of our Sin and Punishment And to this purpose I have pitched upon these words of our Lord which are the application of two Parables which he had delivered before to stir up Men to a diligent and careful Practice of their Duty that so they may be in a continual readiness and preparatioâ— for the coming of their Lord. The first Parable is more general and concerns all Men who are represented as so many Servants in a great Family from which the Lord is absent and they being uncertain of the time of his return should always be in a condition and posture to receive him Upon the hearing of this Parable Peter enquires of our Saviour whether he intended this only for his Disciples or for all To which Question our Saviour returns an Answer in another Parable which more particularly concerned them who because they were to be the Chief Rulers and Governours of his Church are represented by the Stewards of a great Family Ver. 42. Who then is that faithful and wise Steward whom his Lord shall make Ruler over his household to give them their portion of meat in due season If he discharge his Duty blessed is he but if he shall take occasion in his Lord's absence to domineer over his fellow Servants and riotously to waste his Lords goods his Lord when he comes will punish him after a more severe and exemplary manner And then follows the application of the whole in the words of the Text And that Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes As if he had said and well may such a Servant deserve so severe a Punishment who having such a trust committed to him and knowing his Lord's will so much better yet does contrary to it upon which our Saviour takes occasion to compare the Fault and Punishment of those who have greater advantages and opportunitiâ—s of knowing their Duty with those whâ— are ignorant of it That Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to it shall be beaten with many stripes but he that knew not but did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes And then he adds the Reason and the Equity of this proceeding For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required and to whom Men have committed much of him they will ask the more The Words in general do allude to that Law of the Jews mentioned Deut. 25. 2. where the Judge is required to seâ— the Malefactor punish'd according to his Fault by a certain number of Stripes in relation to which known Law among the Jews our Saviour here says that those who knew their Lord's will and did it not should be beaten with many stripes but those who knew it not should be beaten with few stripes So that there are two Observations lie plainly before us in the words First That the greater Advantages and Opportunities and Man hath of knowing his Duty if he do it not the greater will be his Condemnation The Servant which knew his Lord's will and prepared not himself neither did according to it shall be beaten with many stripes Secondly That ignorance is a great excuse of Mens faults and will lessen their Punishment But he that knew not but did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes I shall begin with the latter of these first because it will make way for the other Viz. That ignorance is a great excuse of Men's faults and will lessen their Punishment He that knew not but did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes For the clearing of this it will be requisite to consider what ignorance it is which our Saviour here speaks of and this is necessary to be enquired into because it is certain that there is some sort of ignorance which doth wholly excuse and clear from all manner of guilt and there is another sort which doth either not at all or very little extenuate the faults of Men so that it must be a third sort different from both these which our Saviour here means First There is an ignorance which doth wholly excuse and clear from all manner of guilt and that is an absolute and invincible ignorance when a Person is wholly ignorant of the thing which if he knew he should be bound to do but neither can nor could have helpt it that he is ignorant of it that is he either had not the Capacity or wanted the Means and Opportunity of knowing it In this Case a Person is in no fault if he did not do what he never knew nor could know to be his Duty For God measures the faults of Men by their Wills and if there be no defect there there can be no guilt for no Man is guilty but he that is conscious to himself