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
Cleanse your Righteousness and to take care that none of the Leaven of the Scribes and Pharisees stick to it Here on Earth Men Fight for a great Estate and venture Fortune Friends Interest Honesty Life and all Strange The Kingdom of Heaven should lie under that Misfortune that Men must be entreated to enter into it and yet will not be prevailed with after all to enter Yes you 'll say we all are very ready to enter into it were it not for the hard Conditions that are required and do you really think the Conditions so hard Would you think them so if you lay Howling in Eternal Flames Certainly nothing would seem hard then and why should it seem so now when it is evident and apparent you are in danger of those Flames Behold God is ready and willing to succour to assist to support and to strengthen you that your Righteousness may Triumph over the Righteousness of these Hypocrites The same Spirit the same Grace the same Influences the same Assistances he hath afforded to St. Paul to St. Peter to Lydia to Martha to Mary to Magdalene to the Jaylour to the Penitent Publican to Zachaeus to others the same he offers to you all But then if these kind Offers be slighted and rejected and a Farm a Yoak of Oxen or some thing worse be preferr'd before it it is not God so much that deprives you of the Kingdom of Heaven as you your selves Were you actually possess'd of this Kingdom of Heaven you would wonder at the Folly and Madness of Men who can complain that the Conditions are hard when such a Glory such a Bliss such a Kingdom is to be had a Kingdom for which the Apostles and the Primitive Believers whose Faith and Constancy we Admire forsook Father and Mother and Lands and Houses and all that was dear to them in this World I could give you such a Description of that Kingdom as should make all the Glories of this World look pale and dim and dark in Comparison of it But I forbear Were such Considerations as these made use of in the cool of the Day I mean when your Thoughts are cool and composed and the Grace of God upon your Endeavours earnestly implored they would inspire you with Courage Invincible to go not only beyond Heathens and Philosophers but beyond Scribes and Pharisees in Righteousness and in the serious Exercises of Virtue and Self-Denial It 's possible you may not remember all the Motives I have given you but one thing you will be able to Remember which contains all that I have said and that 's the Text and therefore I repeat it once more Except your Righteousness shall exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven SERMON XXII St. Matth. Ch. v. Ver. 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 Raca shall be in danger of the Council but whosoever shall say thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell fire FAlse Teachers without doubt are very dangerous Men. The Murtherer kills the Body these the Soul and by the false Doctrines they Sow in Mens Heads and Minds they not only obstruct their Salvation but lead them into Perdition Indeed if the Errors be light and trivial the hurt that 's done is not great and while the erroneous Doctrine reaches no farther than Speculation it can deserve no very severe Censure but when it spoils and sullies the Worship of God or proves an impediment to the faithful discharge of our Duty to God and Man Poison is not so prejudicial to the outward as such Opinions are to the inward Man and the better part And such were the erroneous Doctrines of the Scribes and Pharisees Blending the Traditions of their Fathers with the Law of God and entertaining both with an equal Faith and Veneration they made an odd kind of Divinity and quite perverted the design of Religion which was to make Men universally good This was particularly visible in the notion they had of the sixth Commandment which they interpreted to the carnal advantage and worldly Interest of their People teaching them that if they did but use that Care and Circumspection as not to kill a Man they did not only answer the design of the Lawgiver but would prevent the Penalty annex'd and their being taken notice of by the Magistrate and punished accordingly but as for Wrath and Malice and reproachful Language whereby Murder and such bloody Practices are too often occasion'd and promoted these they told them were things not forbid in the primary Intention of the Law of God and consequently they need fear no Punishment To which preposterous Exposition our Saviour opposes his Divine Authority proves the gloss of their Elders upon the sixth Commandment to be false and shews That what they thought did not deserve so much as a temporal Judgment God would punish with eternal Vengeance if not forsaken or repented of betimes Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time Thou shalt not kill and whosoever shall kill shall be c. This is a Text upon which Criticks and Learned Men have bestow'd many excellent Observations because the words relate to some antient Customs of the Jews in their Judicial Proceedings against Malefactors and others But as I do not think it proper to entertain you with Curiosities so if there be need of making use of any of those Observations I shall do it no farther than they serve to elucidate some of the obscurer Passages of the Text and make way for the practical Points I shall insist upon for your Edification As to the Sense of the Words it 's briefly this 1. Whether we render the Expression in the Original 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 It hath been said by them of old time or to them of old time as some Translations read it the difference is not very material for as by those of old time are meant either the antient Masters of Tradition who lived some hundred years before that time or the Ancestors of the Jews to whom those Masters of Tradition pretended to deliver an oral Exposition of the Law of Moses so if we read by them of old time the meaning is You have heard that it hath been deliver'd and said by the antient Masters of Tradition And if we render it to them of old time the sense is You have heard it delivered to your Ancestors and Fore-fathers by those antient Masters of Tradition I restrain you see this Passage to Tradition for though the Sense of it is to be found in the Law of Moses yet the Maxim as it is related by our Saviour here is not expressed there neither with that
with greater Terrour they may fall a Sacrifice when they die to hellish Furies Nor can Duels and single Combats upon an Affront receiv'd and Challenging one another to fight be excused from sharing in the Heinousness of this Guilt for whatever fine Names and plausible Descriptions the Law of Honour may have made of such Actions he that kills another in a Duel though he gets a Pardon of his Prince will be Arraign'd in the last day among the Murtherers who shall have their Portion in the Lake which burns with Fire and Brimstone I do not deny but that in the dark Times of Popery such Combats have been allow'd of and publick Prayers have been said for success in such Duels but what Credit can a Cause receive from Ages in which to understand Greek was a Crime and Hebrew next to Heresie We need not wonder that Babylon the Mother of Harlots should permit such things whose Garments have been died Red with the Blood of the Saints of God and which hath Tricks and Ways to Canonize Assassins to consecrate Murther and to Christen Massacres Services of Religion To call upon you to take heed of having a hand in Blood were to discourage you from drowning or poisoning your selves or running a Sword into your own Bowels for indeed this is no better and whatever varnish may be put upon it it is precipitating your selves headlong into the Gulf of Perdition There is in this Sin all that can aggravate a Deed it is to raise a Hell in your Bosom and the thing it self speaks so much abomination that to name the Sin is to give you a thousand Arguments against it But then that ye may not be under any temptation to this Sin let bitterness and wrath and anger be put away from you with all Malice which leads me to the third Proposition III. That Wrath and Anger without a just Cause have their Degrees and according to them the Punishment in the next Life will be proportionable For whosoever shall be angry with his Brother without a cause shall be in danger of the Judgment and whosoever shall say to his Brother Raca shall be in danger of the Council but whosoever shall say thou Fool shall be in danger of Hell-fire That some anger is lawful is evident from hence because Christ himself was angry and very angry sometimes and so were the Apostles and we are permitted to be so but with this Caution be angry and sin not i. e. so as not to Sin Eph. iv 26 So that all Anger is not a mark of Damnation But then when the Author and Captain of our Salvation Christ Jesus and his Holy Apostles were angry it was only against Sin and out of a Zeal to Vertue and when Men were obstinate and would not be perswaded to do their Duty and a Sense of God's Glory kindled the fire of their Passion in which Case to be angry is a Perfection and to be passionate a Christian accomplishment provided still that the bounds of that Anger be observed and it's heat do not turn into Wild-fire that it be not attended with unseemly Expressions nor accompanied with furious Gestures and Actions I do not deny but a Man may be angry with his Servant a Father with his Children and a Master with his Scholars and proceed even to Correction but then it must be because they neglect their Duty or will not hearken to wholsome Admonitions and when gentler Addresses will do no good and the Anger must be more upon the account of their Sin than out of any Desire to revenge and it must be an Anger mingled with Pity and Compassion and which ends in Prayer for the Offenders and it must be free from Fury and reviling Language And being kept within these Bounds I find no fault with this Anger But this is not the Anger my Text speaks of and against which Christ levels his Commination here for that 's Anger without sufficient Cause even Anger because our worldly Interest is not promoted as we expected or because our Honour and Reputation is touch'd or because something which gratifies our Lusts is with-held from us or because our vain Desires are not cocker'd and flatter'd or because such a Person hath not given us the Title and Respect we look'd for or because we cannot digest a Reproof or because we are cross'd in our Designs or because such a Man is not of our Opinion or because he will not conform to our Humour These are the things which commonly provoke to Passion and this Anger the farther it goes the worse it grows if from Thoughts and secret Grudges it proceeds to contumelious reproachful and reviling Language to calling the party ill Names Fool and Rogue and Villain and Rascal and Knave and Cheat and Hypocrite and such other Titles as Modesty will not suffer us to Name it becomes greater and if from Words and Expressions it goes farther yet even to Actions of Revenge and settles in Hatred in Rancour and inveterate Malice it then shuts out the Righteousness of God and lets in the Devil and invites evil Spirits to come and Lodge in that House and the last Estate of that Man grows worse than the first And is not this the Case of abundance of you Do not you see something in this Glass that 's very like you and resembles your Temper And do but consider what weakness what impotency of Reason and Spirit you betray and discover by such doings Is not this an inlet to confusion and every evil work Jam. iii. 16 Is this the Christian Spirit Is this to know what manner of Spirit you are of Is this treading in your Masters steps Is this following his Example Who when he was reviled reviled not again Dare you appear before the Son of Man in the last day with such a Disposition of Soul never yet seriously repented of Is this to resist the Devil Is this to purifie your Hearts Have you so learned Christ Is this to be Children in Malice as you are bound to be by your Profession Is this to crucifie the Flesh with the Affections and Lusts upon the least Provocation presently to be in a huff presently to let your Tongues loose and to break forth against your Brethren in Language fitter for Turks and Indians than for Christians Is this to be meek as Doves Is this to Love one another with a pure Heart fervently Is Hell-fire nothing but painted Flames Hath our great Master threatned it and do we make light of it Can you seriously reflect upon this Commination and be unconcerned And is not this threatning a Call to Repentance What a Mercy is it that God will accept of a sincere Repentance after such Provocations But how can you repent of your Passion if you do not mortifie it How can you mortifie it if you do not conquer it How can you conquer it if you do not strive How can you strive if you do not use the proper means and weapons
Connection And therefore I conceive the antient Expositors of the Law contracted what Moses had said into this Motto Whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment 2. What is said here of Killing is meant of killing a Man and hath respect to the sixth Commandment Thou shalt do no Murder By which Law as the killing of Beasts for Man's use could not be intended nor destroying venomous and noxious Animals nor executing of Malefactors by order of the Magistrate nor depriving Men of their Lives in a just and lawful War but an unjust depriving a Man of his Life so there was a punishment suitable annex'd to the breach of that Law which Punishment was to be ordered and inflicted by the Magistrate and so far as the Law of God given by Moses went all was right and just and reasonable but here the Masters of Tradition had made a Distinction that if a Man had hired another to kill his Neighbour or had let loose a wild Beast upon him whereby he died the Magistrate was not to inflict the Punishment of Death upon him but he was to be left to the extraordinary Judgment of God but if he killed him in Person either by a Sword or by a Stone or by some other Weapon then the Magistrate was to execute the Penalty appointed by the Law of Moses upon him but this was not all for they taught moreover that though a Person who killed another was liable to capital Punishments yet the Wrath the Anger and the Malice that prompted him to it was a thing that deserved no Punishment and therefore this was not a thing to be feared and here came in Tradition which mis-interpreted the Law of Moses though it stands to Reason that he who forbids a Sin at the same time doth forbid the occasion of it and all such things as do naturally lead to the Commission of it 3. Our Saviour to shew that Wrath and Anger and Malice and reproachful Language were liable to Punishment as well as Murder and that God would certainly lash them as well as the greater Enormities takes notice of several degrees of unjust Wrath and Anger The first is a sudden Effervescence or Boyling up of the Blood or some violent Agitation and Commotion of the Passions upon a frivolous occasion and therefore adds 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 without sufficient Cause which though it be not in some Copies yet must necessarily be understood here not denying but that Anger in some Cases may be lawful but shewing withal that if the occasion of the Anger be slight and trivial and the Anger even in a lawful Cause be excessive and going beyond its just Bounds it provokes God's heavy Displeasure But then if this secret Anger within or the first boyling over of the Blood proceeeds farther to contemptuous Words and that a Man in Wrath and Malice gives his Neighbour reproachful Language despising and undervaluing him by using Expressions and Names which wound his Reputation intimated by the Word Rakah i. e. vile and worthless Wretch though I am apt to believe that an angry and threatning noise and posture is chiefly meant by that Word in this Case the Sin rises higher and becomes greater and consequently deserves a severer Judgment but then if this Anger mounts higher yet and from an angry threatning Posture and Noise which betrays Wrath and Indignation it proceeds to the calling our Neighbour Fool i. e. wicked and reprobate Wretch deserving the eternal Anger both of God and all good Men which is the meaning of the Word Fool in the Proverbs of Solomon as the Sin becomes more heinous by this Aggravation so the Punishment of it in the other World will be greater yet 4. What our Saviour saith here of a certain Gradation of Punishments due to the several Lusts and degrees of Wrath and Anger Judgment Council Hell Fire must be understood of Penalties in the next World yet with allusion to the degrees of Punishment among the Jews in this Life Now among the Jews there were three degrees of publick Infamy according to the nature of the Punishment inflicted on Men for their Crimes and the more publick the Punishment was the greater was the Infamy If an Offender were brought before the Court of Three and twenty which was an inferiour Court of Judicature called here being guilty of the Judgment and there condemn'd he was infamous and a great Disgrace it was to him but in a lower degree If he were brought before the Sanedrin or the Great Council of the Nation consisting of LXX Elders in the nature of our Parliament and by them adjudged to Death the Infamy and Disgrace was greater Yet if lastly a Man were condemn'd to be burnt in the Valley of Hinnon or Tophet where all the Trash and Filth of the City of Jerusalem the Garbage and dead Carcasses were burnt and where antiently they offered their Children to Moloch and where a perpetual Fire was kept to consume all things that were offensive and nauseous and which by the Jews themselves was look'd upon as an Emblem of Hell Fire the Infamy was greatest of all According to these degrees of Infamy here on Earth Christ shews there will be degrees of Punishment for the several degrees of unjust and unlawful Anger in the other World for most certainly this Threatning cannot be understood with respect to this Life there being no such thing inflicted upon Men for Anger and reproachful Names on this side the Grave and whereas the Jews were generally afraid chiefly of Punishments in this Life Christ thought sit to acquaint them and us that we had far greater reason to be afraid of the Punishments in the next as more dreadful and more grievous than any they could fear here on Earth And this is the meaning of the Commination in the Text Whosoever c. From the Words thus explained arise these following Truths I. Antiquity is no warrant for erroneous Doctrines and Practices II. Murder is a Crime which the Magistrate must by no means suffer to go unpunish'd III. Wrath and Anger without a just Cause hath its degrees and according to the degrees of the Sin the Punishment in the next World will be proportionable 1. Antiquity is no warrant for erroenous Doctrines and Practices The Scribes and Pharisees here pretended that what they taught and practis'd concerning the sixth Commandment was deliver'd to them by them of old Time But our Saviour shews that this pretence could be of no use to them but rather betray'd than cover'd their Nakedness Error pleads Antiquity as well as Truth and though nothing be more antient than Truth for it is from Eternity and before ever Error appear'd in the World Truth had the universal Monarchy yet Error is as ancient as the Fall As soon as the Apostate Angels forsook their Habitation and Integrity together Error began to shew it self which soon spread it self through the habitable World when Man tempted by the Devil consented to his false