have promis'd it even to follow the Lord Jesus but how can this be done except we imitate our Father which is in Heaven Christ himself did so The Son can do nothing but what he sees the Father do for what things soever he doth these also doth the Son likewise John v. 19 He loved as God loved and was merciful as God was merciful In a word he was the express Image of his Person not only of his Nature but of his Perfections too and if this was our Saviour's work we cannot imitate that Saviour except we endeavour to be perfect as our Father which is in Heaven is perfect But I shall press this no farther There are several weighty Inferences which may be drawn from the Premises for our Instruction and I must proceed to acquaint you with them Inferences I. From this Command of being Perfect it doth not follow that on this side Heaven we may arrive to a perfect freedom from all Sin great and small which seems to have been the Doctrine of Pelagius and his Disciple Coelestius and if we may believe St. Austin and Cassian they proceeded to that extravagance as to affirm that all this might be done by the meer strength and force of Nature They do indeed alledge the Examples of Abel of Abraham Isaac and Jacob and how God rewarded them with making them his Friends and gave them great Instances of his Love and Favour But all that can be inferr'd from thence is only this that he encourag'd their Faith by gracious Recompences as a Father doth a Child otherwise faulty enough upon some excellent act of Obedience but not that they were free from all Sin there is not a just Man upon Earth that doth good and sinneth not saith Solomon Eccles. vii 20 and the just Man falls seven times i. e. Sins by surprize very often and rises up again Prov. xxiv 16 we grant very readily what St. John says 1 John iii. 9 That the regenerate cannot Sin because the Seed of God remains in them but if we compare that Passage with other places of Scripture the sence must necessarily be this That committing such Sins as worldly and sensual Men make nothing of is against their Temper and Inclination as Joseph told his Mistress How can I commit this wickedness They cannot sin wilfully or with delight or allow themselves in any known Sin nor sin impenitently It 's true such Men are call'd Perfect because they have a respect to all the Commandments of God and there is nothing remarkable in all the compass of Vertue and Goodness which they do not heartily endeavour after and their Sincerity is called Perfection but still that 's no Argument that therefore they are not subject to accidental Slips and Failings while they live among Men and converse with variety of Persons which they expiate by a renew'd and daily Repentance so that a Man may be a perfect Man as the Sun is a perfect Light yet as that Luminary hath its Spots and is subject to be clouded so Righteous Men may have lesser Faults and be subject to inadvertencies and yet be Perfect still II. It follows from the Premises that both the Saying in the Text and all the other Oracles deliver'd in this Sermon are Precepts not Counsels Duties which every Christian is oblig'd to perform not meer Heroick Actions which the Religious only and those who have entirely dedicated themselves to God's service are oblig'd to mind or to exercise themselves in the Church of Rome by making a distinction betwixt Counsels and Precepts cuts the Sinews of a Christian Life and how pleasing soever this Doctrine may seem to Carnal Men in that it gives them hopes that they may be excused from the severer and weightier Duties of the Law but that this Doctrine is false particularly with respect to the Oracle of the Text and the rest in this Chapter is evident from hence because Christ speaks to all his Disciples and all that call themselves Christians own themselves to be so and therefore all must fall under the Obligation And are not we all fond of being Children of our Father which is in Heaven and if the Children of God are obliged to these Self-denials can any of us excuse our selves from the Duty since there are none of us but what are desirous to be honour'd with that Title I will not deny but there are some Evangelical Counsels which all are not obliged to perform of this nature is Celibacy or a single Life whereof Christ speaks Matth. xix But then these Counsels are so expressed that we may know they are no peremptory Commands to which all are obliged as in the preceding Instance of a single Life Christ says He that is able to receive it let him receive it Matth. xix 12 which differs very much from a commanding Stile and besides the Sayings in this Sermon of Christ are enjoyn'd upon pain of Damnation and those who hear them and neglect to do them whoever they be great or low Clergy-men or Lay-men are called Fools and Miserable and undone for ever III. We see here there is no standing still in Religion but he that will be saved must press on toward Perfection It is very common with some Christians when they are come to such a pitch of Devotion there to rest and grow secure and maintain that Formality and think themselves sufficiently Religious But this must be a Mistake and it 's a sign they do not search their Hearts nor examine their Lives nor compare their Behaviour with the particular Rules of the Gospel which if they did they would find that there is always something to reform to amend to rectifie and to set in order something to remove and something to plant something to meliorate and something to dislodge in a word that some other Vertues besides those they have already are to be Objects of their Love and Delight That Person who contents himself with his being free from scandalous Sins stops there and looks after no greater Perfection most certainly disobeys the words of the Text for how doth he endeavour after Perfection that parts with one Sin and pleases himself with another and with the Pharisee cries I thank thee O God that I am not as other Men Unjust Adulterous c. and all this while allows himself in Pride Arrogance Censoriousness and Selfconceitedness Not to go on in Religion or not to perfect what is begun or not to proceed from Vertue to Vertue is to go backward And he that is at a stand lies expos'd to the Devils Temptations for we are not ignorant of his Devices He that stands still will not be long before he goes backward he is next door to it for this gives the Enemy a fair opportunity to lull him into a Slumber from whence he seldom awakes till God calls upon him in a terrible accent Thou Fool this Night thy Soul shall be taken from thee and whose shall be what thou hast provided IV.
SEVERAL SERMONS UPON THE Fifth of St. Matthew Being Part of CHRIST's SERMON On the Mount. By ANTHONY HORNECK D.D. Late Preacher at the Savoy The SECOND Volume Compleating the Chapter LONDON Printed for Brabazon Aylmer at the three Pigeons against the Royal Exchange in Cornhil 1698. THE Texts of the Sermons IN THIS SECOND VOLUME SERMON XVI ST Matthew the Fifth Verse 15. Neither do Men light a Candle and put it under a bushel but on a Candlestick and it giveth Ligth to all that are in the House Page 1. SERMON XVII Verse 16. Let your Light so shine before Men that others may see your good Works and glorifie your Father which is in Heaven p. 16. SERMON XVIII Verse 17. Think not that I am come to destroy the Law and the Prophets I am not come to destroy but to fulfil p. 35. SERMON XIX Verse 18. For verily I say unto you till Heaven and Earth pass one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law till all be fulfilled p. 53. SERMON XX. Verse 19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandements and shall teach Men so he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom p. 73. SERMON XXI Verse 20. 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 p. 91. SERMON XXII Verse 21 22. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the Judgment But I say unto you that whosoever is angry with his Brother without a Cause shall be in danger of the Judgment and whosoever shall say to his Brother Racha shall be in danger of the Council but whosoever shall say thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell Fire p. 119. SERMON XXIII Verse 23 24. Therefore if thou bring thy Gift to 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 p. 139. SERMON XXIV Verse 25 26. Agree with thine Adversary quickly while thou art in the way with him lest at any time the Adversary deliver thee to the Judge and the Judge deliver thee to the Officer and thou be cast into Prison Verily I say unto thee thou shalt by no means come out thence till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing p. 161. SERMON XXV Verse 27 28. Ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time thou shalt not commit Adultery but I say unto you that whosoever looketh on a Woman to lust after her hath committed Adultery with her already in his Heart p. 179. SERMON XXVI Verse 29 30. And if thy right Eye offend thee pluck it out and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy Members should perish and not that thy whole Body should be cast into Hell And if thy right Hand offend thee cut it off and cast it from thee for it is profitable for thee that one of thy Members should perish and not that thy whole Body should be cast into Hell p. 195. SERMON XXVII Verse 31 32. It hath been said Whosoever shall put away his Wife let him give her a Writing of Divorcement But I say unto you that whosoever shall put away his Wife saving for the cause of Fornication causes her to commit Adultery and whosoever Marries her that is Divorced commits Adultery p. 213. SERMON XXVIII Verse 33. Again ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time thou shalt not forswear thy self but shalt perform unto the Lord thine Oaths p. 273. SERMON XXIX Verse 34 35 36. But I say unto you swear not at all neither by Heaven for it is Gods Throne nor by the Earth for it is his Foot-stool neither by Jerusalem for it is the City of the Great King neither shalt thou swear by thine Head because thou can'st not make one Hair white or black p. 309. SERMON XXX Verse 37. But let your Communication be yea yea and nay nay for whatsoever is more than these comes of Evil. p. 329. SERMON XXXI Verse 38 39. Ye have heard that it hath been said an Eye for an Eye and a Tooth for a Tooth But I say unto you that ye resist not Evil but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right Cheek turn him the other also p. 349. SERMON XXXII Verse 40 41. And if any Man will sue thee at the Law and take away thy Coat let him have thy Cloak also And whosoever shall compel thee to go a Mile go with him twain p. 385. SERMON XXXIII Verse 42. Give to him that asketh thee and from him that would borrow of thee turn thou not away p. 401. SERMON XXXIV Verse 43. Ye have heard that it hath been said thou shalt love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy p. 417. SERMON XXXV Verse 44. But I say unto you Love your Enemies Bless them that curse you do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you p. 434. SERMON XXXVI Verse 45. That you may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven for he makes the Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth Rain on the Just and Vnjust p. 459. SERMON XXXVII Verse 46 47. For if you love them which love you what Reward have you Do not even the Publicans the same And if ye salute your Brother only what do you more than others Do not even the Publicans so p. 479. SERMON XXXVIII Verse 46 47. For if ye love them which love you c. p. 501. SERMON XXXIX Verse 48. Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect p. 527. ADVERTISEMENT THIS Worthy Author hath likewise left Sermons of the Sixth and Seventh Chapters of St. Matthew's Gospel Compleating our Blessed Saviour's Sermon on the Mount making an excellent Body of Divinity Which will be suddenly Printed Uniform to this Volume SERMON XVI ON THE Fifth of St. Matthew VOL. II. St. Matth. Ch. v. Ver. 15. Neither do Men light a Candle and put it under a Bushel but on a Candlestick and it giveth Light to all that are in the House HAD I consulted Brevity I might have handled the 13 14 15 and 16 th verses together because they all speak of the same Subject viz. The Exemplary Lives of Christians But being willing to examine the Emphasis of every Expression I have resolved to treat of these distinctly As our Saviour hath compared his true Followers to the Salt of the Earth with respect to their Reforming others To the Sun or Light of the World with respect to their Enlightning and Enlivening others To a City set on an Hill with
Family and Country and Religion with them insomuch that they thought there lay no Obligation upon them to be so much as Civil and do the common Offices of Humanity to a Samaritan or a Heathen no not so much as to shew him the way to a Town or to a Well of Water if he was dry or spent with Thirst. 2. From this narrow signification of the word Neighbour they flatter'd themselves that if a Man had wrong'd or done them an Injury they were not oblig'd to love him or that they might lawfully hate him because he was no Friend no Neighbour no fit Person to be call'd so and that they stretcht this even to Men of their own Religion is evident from v. 46 of this Chapter and their ordinary Practice 3. Because God had order'd their Forefathers to destroy the seven Nations of the Land of Canaan and to root out the Memory of Amalek from under Heaven Deut. xxv 19 They inferr'd that they might lawfully hate all Nations that were not of their Religion a strange Inference this for though God made them the Executioners of his Wrath and Indignation and intended them as Instruments whereby he meant to punish and remove those wicked Men yet from thence it follow'd not that they were to hate them in ordinary Converse or as they had occasion to meet them accidentally or about business In a just publick War they were order'd to destroy them and not as they appear'd in a private Capacity nor was their Order to destroy them in a publick War a sufficient Warrant for them to hate them at other times no more than an Executioner is bound to hate the Person he hangs up or Beheads or Executes by order of the Magistrate no more than a Soldier who Fights in the Field and kills a publick Enemy must needs be suppos'd to hate the Person he kills because he only executes the Command of his General Yet such ill Logicians they were that from hence they inferr'd 1. That all Persons who were not of their Religion were their Enemies 2. That they might lawfully hate them and do those things against them if they had a fair opportunity and could do it safely whereby People commonly express their hatred Thus the Pharisees taught them from Tradition and these were the Men even the ancient Masters of Tradition from which the Pharisees deriv'd their Pedigree who perverted this Precept of loving their Neighbour and by whom it was said Thou shalt love thy Neighbour and hate thine Enemy A Maxim very agreeable to corrupt Nature And the II. Thing I am to treat of Its agreeableness to Humane Nature appears 1. From hence because corrupt Nature loves its ease it hates to be restrain'd And this Maxim is so far from confining it that it gives it Elbow-room and leave to follow its course and natural inclination Take a Person abstracted from the Sanctifying Grace of God and that 's a Stranger to the transforming work of God's Spirit if he may have his Will thus he will act i. e. Love his Friend and hate his Enemy This is that he would have and there the byass runs Here is no need of any Self-denial or swimming against the Stream no need of great Consideration or Deliberation or deep Thoughts it is as natural to an unregenerate Man as sucking is to a Child Other things he cannot learn without taking Pains such as Riding Fencing Painting Reading Writing c. but this he learns without a Teacher without going to School without Breeding without the trouble of an Academy as easily as he doth Aversion from Goodness and backwardness to Vertue and gratifying his brutish Appetite In a word This loving his Friend and hating an Enemy is no painful work and therefore very agreeable to corrupt Nature 2. With this Principle a Carnal Man may justifie all the ill Nature he exercises in Converse and all the ill Offices he doth to his Neighbour he may excuse with this That he loves his Friend and hates his Enemy Cain's angry Looks and Joab's secret Grudges and Absalom's Malice and Judas's Envy and the Pharisees Spleen may all shelter themselves under this cover With this Maxim the vain Man can baffle all the checks of an unruly Conscience put by its Importunities stop its Mouth dash its Terrors and silence its loud Cries and all this is very agreeable to corrupt Nature and the Person who teaches such pernicious Doctrines must needs be very welcome to wicked Men and his words as a lovely Song of him that hath a pleasant Voice and that can play well upon an Instrument But how irrational this Principle is how contrary to the Rules of Reason and the design of Christianity as it deserves Enquiry so it is the III. Particular I am to speak of And here 1. Reason tells us that Man stands in such Relations one Man to another Relations imparting Love and Amity and Kindness that hating even of an Enemy is inconsistent with those Relations No Man ever yet hated his own Flesh this is an indubitable Principle of Reason And now let the Enemy we have be never so inveterate never so Malicious or Injurious still he carries the same Flesh and Blood about him that we do The same Father made him even God blessed for evermore We are Brethren and God created us both after his own Image The same God maintains feeds and supports him that keeps our Souls in Life and though his hostile Acts may be very great yet still this Consideration will oblige us not to hate him Not to mention that Reason bids us preferr the Interest of the Soul before that of the Flesh. And it 's evident that by the Enmity of others our Souls are signal Gainers as they have an opportunity to exercise the noblest Vertue which is Self-conquest Caesar said Tully uses to forget nothing but Injuries and Aristotle makes it the Character of a magnanimous Man and it was well observ'd of that Religious Man in the Lives of the Fathers That an Enemy doth us a greater kindness than our Friends and our Souls thrive best when we have store of Enemies 2. The design of Christianity is to raise to polish and to refine our Natures and to make us like God and consequently hating an Enemy must be contrary to this Design for it doth not only keep our Natures in a mean pitiful base and groveling Condition but makes us very unlike God who lets his Sun shine upon the Just and Unjust and his Rain drop upon the Pastures of the good and bad It 's true God doth punish his Enemies but not to mention that even this Punishment is an act of Charity as it is an endeavour to reclaim them from the Errors of their Ways this he doth not till all other means prove fruitless and ineffectual However to be sure in this Life on this side Hell in the midst of the execution of his Wrath and Vengeance he heaps innumerable Mercies upon them and that 's sufficient
Fashions that will make you Masters of this Love No the School of the Cross teaches this Self-denial and the Sacrament is that School There a Crucify'd Saviour dying for his Enemies is seen and what were all his Prayers and Tears and Agonies but kindnesses to Enemies These we contemplate in this Ordinance at least they come to very little purpose that approach not with this Consideration Here to see his Love and Charity spread and diffuse it self with all the acts of Love my Text speaks of and to believe all this must needs help to melt the Heart and make us willing to bless them that curse us to do good to them that hate us and to pray for them which despitefully use us Let the Soul walk about the Cross and think Behold the Son of God whom I have promised to follow and to imitate even he who bleeds on the Cross he blessed me that had cursed him did good to me that had hated him and pray'd for me that had despitefully used him If I am not like him how shall I be washed with his Blood The Language of the Gospel is that I must be conformable to his Image and chang'd into it and tread in his Steps if I mean to be partaker of his Merits and shall not I consider the importance of this Truth and contrive that the same Mind may be in me which was also in Christ Jesus Thy Death sweet Jesu must do it Thy Death must kill my Hatred and my Rages Thy Love must burn that dross away and whenever my unruly Passions rise against my Enemy I 'll tâ—row the whole weight of thy Love upon them that they may be crush'd to Death and expire I conclude with a Passage of St. John and the rather because he was the great Preacher of this Love and St. Jerom takes notice that when he was very old and his Disciples came to visit him still he would say My little Children love one another and being ask'd why he did repeat this so often he said This is all Love one another as you ought to do it is enough you need no more I conclude I say with 1 John ii 9 10 11. He that saith he is in the Light and hateth his Brother is in Darkness even until now He that loves his Brother abideth in the Light and there is none occasion of Stumbling in him But he that hateth his Brother is in Darkness and walketh in Darkness and knows not whither he goes because that Darkness hath blinded his Eyes SERMON XXXVI St. Matth. Ch. V. Ver. 45. That ye may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven for he makes the Sun to rise on the Evil and on the Good and sendeth Rain on the Just and Unjust OUR Saviour having in the two foregoing Verses endeavour'd to rectifie the wilful Mistakes of Men the Jews especially about loving their Neighbours and hating their Enemies confuted their false Maxims and Notions establish'd a standing Law among his Followers and charged them as they hop'd for the everlasting Kingdom he promised and proclaim'd to love their Enemies to bless them that curse them to do good to them that hate them c. He lays down some Motives and Arguments in the Text which he thought would prevail with rational and considerate Men and such who had a serious sence of God and another Life prevail I mean if seriously thought of and consider'd and ponder'd in the Heart It 's thinking that puts Men upon Action and we see with what violence and vehemence Men fall to work if they apprehend in it something that 's profitable or pleasant or preservative from Evil and indeed in in so great a work as loving our Enemies and doing good to them that hate us a work so contrary to corrupt Nature and the receiv'd Customs of Men the motives must not be survey'd slightly or superficially but so regarded that no Objection no Temptation of Flesh and Blood may stop or hinder the Votary from doing so Carnal Men may fancy that no Motive can be strong enough to effect it but if it were so our blessed Master would have been under a great Mistake which is impossible yea let God be true and every Man a Lyar. He knew they would prevail and no doubt they will prevail with Men who are ambitious of things unseen ambitious of the invisible future Glory ambitious of being Children of their Father which is in Heaven for so we read That you may be Children of your Father which is in Heaven for he lets the Sun rise upon the Evil and the Good and sendeth Rain upon the Just and Unjust Concerning the Phrases and Expressions of the Text I have only this to observe That for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Children some ancient Copies read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 like your Father which is in Heaven which it 's probable was at first only a Marginal Note and was afterward by the Transcribers put into the Text. However the sence is the same and to be Children is to be like our Father which is in Heaven In Heaven not that he is confined to that place for he is not far from every one of us Act. xvii 27 and The Heaven even the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain thee saith Solomon 1 Kings viii 27 And whither shall I go from thy Spirit or whither shall I flee from thy Presence If I ascend into Heaven thou art there if I make my Bed in Hell behold thou art there if I take the Wings of the Morning and dwell in the uttermost Parts of the Sea even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me saith David Psal. cxxxix 7 8 9. yet he is in Heaven because there is his Court his Palace his Throne where he manifests himself in a most signal manner and his Power Goodness Mercy Influences are felt and dispensed there infinitely beyond what is known here on Earth This is all I think necessary to observe concerning the Expressions used here The more material things may be resolv'd into these following Propositions I. Men are made Children of God not born so II. The great design of the Gospel is to make us like God like our Father which is in Heaven III. The greatness and vastness of God's Bounty is to be seen in his letting the Sun rise upon the Evil and the Good and sending Rain upon the Just and Unjust I. Men are not born Children of God but made so That you may be the Children of your Father which is in Heaven which shews there is something to be done that they may become God's Children and come into the World with that Privilege Indeed if we consider God as the Original Cause of all things as in him we all live and move and have our being and as of one Blood he hath made all Nations of Men in that respect he is the Father of us all and all are his Children and born so But I do
Corinthians to be perfect 2 Cor. xiii.ii. And let us go on to Perfection is the Advice he gives to the Hebrews Heb. vi 1 And perfect Love is expresly made a Duty 1 John iv 18 and the Lord make you perfect is a common apprecation used by the Apostles in the close of their Epistles so that the command of endeavouring after Perfection is not among the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Phrases which are mention'd but once in Scripture All the question is what is meant by it There is an absolute Perfection which excludes all Spots and Blemish and Defect and hath every thing that can be rationally wish'd or desir'd to render it an Object of the greatest admiration and in this sence the Law of God Is perfect Jam. i. 21 and according to this Notion God is Perfect who is all in all But this is not the Perfection Man is exhorted to and though it be said in the Text Be ye perfect even as your Father in Heaven is perfect yet the Particle as imports only a similitude no equality shewing rather that it is our Duty to imitate our Heavenly Father and to come as near the Original as our Frailty will give leave than that we are to do exactly according to the measure of the fulness of God So that Perfection when requir'd of Men and Christians is a limited Perfection By a perfect Person the Holy Ghost sometimes means one who is very excellent so he who doth not offend in word is said to be a perfect Man Jam. iii. 2 i. e. an excellent Christian who is arriv'd to a high degree of Self-conquest and Perfection Sometimes a Perfect Man is one that is well establish'd in the Truth to distinguish him from others who are weak in Faith as 1 Cor. ii 6 And this is to be comparatively Perfect i. e. more Perfect than others Sometimes the Scripture stiles them Perfect who are beginning to be so and strenuously endeavour after Perfection as Phil. iii. 15 Sometimes to perfect a thing is to finish it or to carry it on till it hath all its necessary Qualifications as 1 Thess. iii. 10 and Jam. i. 4 So that the Perfection we are capable of amounts to no more than Sincerity which is an Evangelical Perfection and such as God for Christ's sake is willing to accept of and we are then perfect in Goodness when no considerable Ingredient of a Holy Life is wanting The words of the Text Be ye therefore perfect as your Father in Heaven is perfect relate either to the Duty immediately preceding or to all the Vertues and Self-denials pressed and recommended in this Chapter As they relate to the Duty immediately preceding they import an impartial and universal Charity for the Duty Christ insisted upon but just before is being civil kind and courteous charitable and doing good not only to our Friends and Brethren and Relations and to the inoffensive but to our Foes and Enemies and such as have wrong'd and despitefully used us And then the meaning is Be perfectly kind and follow your Heavenly Father's Example who is kind to Good and Bad to Friends and Foes both to his Children and to Strangers If you Love your Friends only your Charity is not perfect but wants the better half you then compleat it and make it sincere and perfect when you express it not only to those who love you but even to those that hate you As the Command relates to all the Vertues in this Chapter it imports that we are to be sincere and conscientious in the practice of them all of one as well as the other as our Father in Heaven exercises all his Perfections for the good of Mankind and the whole Creation and particularly for the good of those that love him And after all we are to suppose that Christ's design is to teach us not to content our selves with having begun well but to go on to the end well for all this appertains to the Perfection enjoyn'd here All that hath been said may be resolved into this Proposition That a Christians perfection consists in a chearful imitation of the Perfections of his Father which is in Heaven St. Paul therefore very sensible of this Truth earnestly entreats the Ephesians to be Followers of God as dear Children Eph. v. 1 Indeed there are some Perfections in God which we cannot must not imitate such as his Omniscience and being the searcher of all Hearts his Self-sufficiency and dwelling in a Light inaccessible and certain knowledge of the Day and Hour of the last Judgment and the number of his Elect his Immortality Omnipotency and being the Object of Religious Adoration In these we are to admire him rather than imitate him And yet it is as certain that he is to be imitated in his other Perfections such as 1. His Charity and Beneficence to the Good and Bad to Friends and Foes It 's true the Mercies shewn to both sorts are of a different Nature And the Bad have not all the Blessings which the Good enjoy Yet both have experience of his Acts of Charity Our imitation of him in this Particular is chiefly aimed at in the Text and in my Explication of the preceding Verses I have again and again pressed it upon you with very moving and powerful Arguments even saluting and being kind and doing good to those who despitefully use you as well as to your Friends and such as never offended you a Vertue this which cannot be inculcated too often for there is nothing more universally neglected the greater part thinking there lies no Obligation upon them to be civil or kind to an Enemy a Temper very different from that of the excellent Virgin in Taulerus who being asked what way she took to arrive to that height of Holiness which appear'd in her answer'd Those who were most offensive and troublesome and injurious to me I have endeavour'd â—o Love with most ardent Affection and those who abused me most and did me the greatest wrong upon them I have sometimes heaped the greatest kindnesses I was capable of which I should not have done if they had not dealt so disingenuously with me St. Chrysostom in his Homily upon these Words is very smart upon those who scorn to be civil to their Enemies except their Enemies begin the Civility and salute them first What Folly saith he is it to expect that thine Enemy should salute thee first if he doth thou get'st nothing by it if thou preventest him in these Civilities thou carriest away the Crown By preventing his Salutations thou reapest Profit from his Pride his Arrogance and Haughtiness proves thy Glory Thou blamest him because he doth not salute thee first and art not thou to be blamed as much as he for not preventing his Salutation If he is to be blamed why dost thou imitate him in that for which thou findest fault with him We that are bound to suffer our selves to be struck on the Cheek and to go farther with