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
but that thou approvest of it And supposing thou approvest of it if the Grace of God restrains him not he soon begins to think that what is lawful for thee may be lawful for him and thus he learns of thee though thou doest not open thy Lips to him There are few Men so bold as in their Words and Speeches to defend and justify things directly contrary to the Will of God in the Gospel but you do mischief enough to the Souls of Men by your evil Practices The Mutes among the Turks teach by their Gestures much more may Men be taught by Actions especially where there is already a Disposition to embrace that which is Evil. Physicians and Naturalists talk of transplanting Diseases from Men into Beasts nay some go so far as to prescribe ways to transfer Distempers from Men into Herbs and Plants Whether it be so I enquire not but sure I am that the Diseases of the Soul are and may be transplanted and conveyed from one Man to another even by evil Practices and this is teaching and making Proselytes to Hell and to the Kingdom of Darkness the readiest way to be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven which will give me occasion IV. To represent to you what it is to be the least or to be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven Fancy you saw a poor miserable Man starving with hunger and so placed that directly over against him he could see the richest Banquet the most delicate Dishes huge plenty of Victuals of all sorts the Company eating their fill and satiating themselves with all the Variety that Earth and Sea and Air can yield and the poor Wretch that is over against this Company but a few paces removed from them unable to get the least Morsel of Bread ready to tear his own Flesh from off his Shoulders and yet in an utter impossibility to get so much as the Crums that fall from those Rich Mens Tables Do not you think this would be as great a Torment as can well be imagined Why this is the Emblem of being the least or excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven The Soul that is so unhappy as to miss of it will see Abraham a far off and Lazarus in his Bosom be ready to perish ready to burst see all the Glory and Joy of blessed Creatures before his Eyes the Delicates the Dainties the Pleasures the Festivals the rich Entertainments they enjoy and swim in passing before him and yet not able to touch not able to reach the least Extremity of all though his Soul be big with ten thousand desires after them What a Torment what a Plague what a Vexation must this be What Grief what Sorrow what Anguish must this cause And if this must continue to Eternal Ages what Tongue is able to express the Torment And can you after all this call any of the Commandments of the Gospel little ones and break them and pass by them as if they did not belong to you and tempt others to do so too when this is the high way to be excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven But V. Are there no Ambitious Men here Are there none among you that desire to be Great Have none of you a mind to be prefer'd and exalted to eminent Places You must be either very mortified or very dull if Greatness can make no Impression upon you Preferment What is there that is more hunted after How do many break their Sleep and fall into Discontent and Vexation because they cannot be advanced What waiting at Court What cringing what bowing to Great Men What running to this Friend and to th' other Friend What Flattery what Dissembling what Compliances are used and all to be Great Behold We can tell you a way to be Great greater than Caesar or Pompey or Alexander greater than all the Kings or Rulers of the Earth Great Where Not at Court not in the Camp or Army Not in Church-Dignities or Preferments but great in the Kingdom of Heaven And is not the Kingdom of Heaven a more lofty and more spacious Empire than the whole Roman Monarchy in all its greatest Extent and Glory It 's true we cannot shew you this Kingdom we cannot make it visible to your Eyes but we can tell you that St. Paul saw it and Christ did enter into it and he that hath power to dispose of all the Glories of it hath sent us to tell you That you may be great and he 'll make you so great as Angels great as the Worthies of God greater than Kings greater than all the Princes of the Earth greater than all the proud things which make so great a noise in the World now and all this if you will close with his Desires and both do and teach the Commandments Christ recommends to in his famous Sermon Little they may seem and contemptible they may appear in the Eyes of the Men that have their portion in this Life But as little as they may seem to be your Conscientious and Impartial Respect to them all to the least as well as to the greatest shall exalt you exalt you far above all the Glory and Splendor of this World raise you from the Dunghil take you out of the Dust and set you with Princes even with the Princes of God's People If you are great already this shall make you greater Lay up therefore these Commandments in your Hearts and in your Souls bind them for a Sign upon your Hands let them be as Frontlets between your Eyes teach them your Children speak of them when you sit in your Houses and when you walk by the way when you lie down and when you rise up Assure all those you Converse with that these Commandments are Life and Peace and Rational and Equitable and Just and Necessary and Health to the Soul Foretasts of Happiness and Prefaces to an endless Glory Thus do and thus teach Teach by your Discourses teach by your Actions teach by your Example So Noah taught the unbelieving World by building an Ark to the saving of his House to save themselves from the Wrath to come So do you and build upon the Word of the Son of God That you shall be great in the Kingdom of Heaven SERMON XXI St. Matt. Ch. v. Ver. 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 A Preface or Introduction will be needless It 's enough that these Words are part of Christ's Famous Sermon on the Mount The Method I shall observe in handling them shall be this following to Enquire and Consider I. Who these Scribes and Pharisees were II. What their Righteousness was and wherein it consisted III. How and in what our Righteousness is to exceed their Righteousness IV. The danger if we do not ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven I. Who these Scribes and Pharisees were 1. The Pharisees You
almost all they did and they did not would not know what a contrite and humble Heart meant and what it was to lie low before God with a deep Sense of their Unworthiness and of the great Imperfection of their Services and though they Fasted often yet that was not so much to arrive to an humble Sense of their Corruptions and Infirmities as to increase their Merits and to do Things which might Challenge Gods kinder Inclinations and this was the Rock against which these Men stumbled And as they were unacquainted with true Humility toward God so they understood not what it was to condescend to Men of low Estate In Humility therefore we are to exceed them in Humility toward God and Man for as there is nothing that separates more betwixt the Creator and the Creature than Pride and Self-Conceitedness for which Reason God is said to behold the Proud afar off so nothing unites Heaven and Earth God and the Soul more than Humility for thus saith the High and Lofty One who inhabiteth Eternity I dwell in the High and Holy Place with him also that is of a contrite and humble Spirit Es. lvii 15 4. In Charity or a compassionate Temper toward all sorts of distressed Persons I say all sorts for that of the Pharisees was narrow and sneaking and confined to People of their own Sect. I need not tell you that Charity consists not only in giving Alms that 's but one part of it nay it may happen so that it may not be so much as a part of it according to the case St. Paul puts 1 Cor. xiii 3 where he makes it possible for a Man to bestow all his Goods to Feed the Poor and yet to have no Charity Had Almsgiving been all the Charity that was necessary to Salvation the Scribes and Pharisees had been considerable Men for they were free and liberal enough of their Purses toward Men of their own Party but Charity is a larger and nobler Virtue if it be of the true Eagle kind an unfeigned Love of God is the cause of it and the effect is ever answerable to the Beauty which produces it St. Paul hath given so genuine a Character of it 1 Cor. xiii that it 's impossible to mistake the Nature of it except Men be wilfully Blind It extends its Arms not only to all sorts of Objects whether Friends or Foes whether Relations or Strangers but as far as it's Ability reaches and opportunity offers it self to all sorts of Distresses It doth not only Feed and give Drink and Cloth and Visit but Admonish too and Reprove and Teach and Entreat and Counsel and Advise and help and assist and sometimes Correct and Punish It embraces Enemies and like the wounded Earth receives even those that cut and digg'd it into its Bosom and like the kind Balsom Tree heals those that made Incisions upon it It Judges favourably of Pious Heathens much more of Pious Christians tho differing from it in Opinion it Damns none whom God hath not Damned in a Word it works no Evil to its Neighbour but is ready unto every good Word and Work And in this Charity we are to exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees 5. In Vniversality of Obedience or in making Conscience of the several Commands of the Gospel of one as well as of another Joh. xv 14 Then we exceed them without any danger of being over-much Righteous when at the same time that we are fervent for Circumstances in God's Worship we are not forgetful of the substantial part of Religion when we do not let our Publick Devotion justle out our private nor the private the publick when we do not make the Practice of one Precept an argument to justify our neglect of another nor excuse our not doing Good by our not committing of Evil but are impartial in our Obedience and cheerfully submit not only to the gentler but harder Injunctions of the Gospel not only to such as are agreeable but to those also which are contrary to our natural Temper and Inclination The Pious Christian will not easily get the better of the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees except his Obedience becomes larger and spreads more than theirs Had these Men carried on their Obedience to that Extent I speak of as St. Paul a Pharisee and the Son of a Pharisee afterwards did there would not have been greater Men in the World than they and the Proverb which was unjustly made concerning them would not have been altogether False viz. If there were but two Men to be Saved the one would be a Scribe the other a Pharisee And these are the particulars in which our Righteousness is to exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees If it doth not we shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven The Danger and the Last Part which will deserve our Examination IV. The Danger Except Your Righteousness shall exceed the Rigteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees Ye shall in no case enter into the Kingdom of Heaven This Word one would think should rouze every Soul here present and put us all upon a serious Inquiry Whether our Righteousness doth actually exceed the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees If it doth not we hear our Doom And can any Man think Christ was very serious in saying so without being concerned how to prevent and escape that fatal Exit All Ye that have any Care of your Salvation and believe another World and know what the Terrors of the Lord mean and what it is not to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven Awake awake why should you not when Your Great Redeemer calls and take this Threatning into serious Consideration Either it will be fulfilled or not If it will not be fulfilled where is Christ's Veracity If it be where is Your Security I say unto You Thus the Commination begins which shews the Thing is firm and like the Laws of Medes and Persians unalterable Our Master even He whom we believe to be God as well as Man hath spoke the Word He that is Truth it self hath said it and thus it must be nor will all the Intreaties of Men and Angels oblige him to depart from his peremptory Declaration You that hear and now read all this cannot pretend Ignorance that you did not know the dreadful Consequence of this Neglect We suggest we intimate so much to you we pull you by the Sleeve we proclaim these Words in your Ears as poor as mean as inconsiderable Creatures as we are I would to God they might sink into your Hearts We beg of You to lay aside your Divertisements and your Businesses for a while and allow this Threatning some Attention of Mind If you go no farther in your Righteousness than these unhappy Men did not all your Cries at last Lord Lord open to us Not all your Tears and Calls Lord have Mercy upon us Not all your Arguings and Pleadings with God Not all your dying Groans not
all your mournful Accents will open the Kingdom of Heaven to you If you go no farther than these Men by this Rule of Christ you must inevitably be Miserable and all your Wealth and Grandeur and Estates and Relatives cannot help you If you go no farther you sink into a State of Hypocrisie and I need not tell you that the Portion of Hypocrites is a very sad Portion for it is to be cast into outward Darkness where there is Howling and Gnashing of Teeth so saith your Master and mine Matth. xxiv 51 In speaking to You I speak to Christians even to Men who believe that to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven is beyond all the Bliss that this or Ten Thousand Worlds do afford and that not to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven is to be Wretched and Miserable Odious and Contemptible beyond Expression and to Groan in Torments to Eternal Ages This is the Notion You have of these Things as You own Your selves Christians Men Fathers and Brethren do you believe the Prophets Do you believe the Apostles Do you believe the Son of God that came into the World to save Sinners I know you believe and surely this is Motive sufficient to suffer the Word of Exhortation If therefore any of you have hitherto laid the stress of your Devotion upon the External Task and been Strangers to the inward frame of Mind which is in the sight of God of great Price If you have been Zealous for small little inconsiderable Things in Matters of Religion and have wilfully neglected the more Substantial and Self-Denying part of it If you have been Selfish in your Acts of Piety and Righteousness and been Devout and Good for Worldly Ends more than from a Sense of your Duty If you have taken some care to Purifie your outward Man from Clamorous and Scandalous Sins and have been careless of rectifying what is amiss within you even of subduing that immoderate Love of the World and Pride and Revengeful Thoughts and Desires and Anger and wrathful Temper and other secret Sins which do so easily beset you If you have thought it your Duty to observe some of the greater Commandments of the Gospel and made no Conscience of the lesser All this Fabrick must be pulled down undone and unravell'd and you must turn over a new Leaf and apply your selves to a true Gospel Life and Temper else there is no entring into the Kingdom of Heaven Flatter not your selves with the Merits and Sufferings and Death of Christ Jesus for poor Sinners I grant I own this is a very Glorious and comfortable Truth and there is no sincere Believer but confesses to thy Praise and Glory O Blessed Jesu That there is no Name under Heaven given whereby Men may be Saved but thine alone But still it is this exceeding the Scribes and Pharisees in their Righteousness that must give you a Title to the benefits of the Death of Jesus Christ By this the Pardon of your Sins which was purchased by that Death must be sued out and applied and rendred comfortable to your Souls and if the Death of Christ doth not kill in you that Hypocrisie and Partiality which made the Righteousness of the Pharisees defective that Death cannot will not profit you All the Christian World knows that the design of Christ's dying for Sinners was That they which Live should not henceforth Live unto themselves but unto him that Died for them and rose again They are the express Words of the Holy Ghost 2 Cor. v. 15 and it is as certain that you cannot Live unto him that Died for you except your Righteousness be a Righteousness without Guile and therefore beyond that of the Scribes and Pharisees I suppose you are sensible that Christ cannot contradict himself when he spake these Words He knew he was to Die for Sinners yet to these Sinners for whom he was to Die he protests Except your Righteousness shall exceed c. And therefore certainly the Mercies of his Death cannot clash with our Duty and whosoever means to enjoy the Benefits of that Death must Die to the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees and a Righteousness more Rational an Evangelical Righteousness must Live in him even that which St. Paul speaks of Phil. iii. 9 And that 's the Life of God as it is called Ephes. iv 18 If we are to exceed these Men in their Righteousness we must do more than they did and if we do more can we do less than what hath been hinted in the preceding Particulars of Sincerity Simplicity Humility Charity and Vniversality of Obedience For these Qualifications rectifie what was amiss in the Righteousness of these Men and set us in the right way from which those Self-Conceited Men deviated and wandred in a Wilderness of Vulgar Errours Should any of you be so Unfortunate what I say here is nothing but a plain and easie Comment upon the Commination of the Text I say should any of you be so unfortunate as to come before the Gate of the Kingdom of Heaven and be denied entrance there how like a Thunder-bolt would this strike you And yet I see not how it is possible to prevent it if these Words of Christ make no impression upon you or do not oblige you to go beyond these Men in their Acts of Devotion and Piety Their Righteousness was an External Mechanical starcht kind of Righteousness it was not Free not Natural and they took no care to reform their Thoughts Desires Lusts Affections and such Things as Human Laws take no notice of and it 's to be feared that this is the Disease of too great a number of Christians Nay Thousands there are which do not come up to so much as the Negative Virtues of the Scribes and Pharisees They were no Drunkards no Swearers no Whoremongers no Adulterers and yet how many that profess themselves Illuminated by the Gospel of Christ are so and worse than so And if even those who do not exceed the Righteousness of these Men shall not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven how shall those that are not so good as they And but that Unbelief and Stupidity reigns so much in the Hearts of Men certainly here is enough to fright them from the Carnal Life they lead There stands before the Gate of the Kingdom of Heaven an Angel with a Flaming Sword as much as there did before the Gate of Paradise to keep out all those who voluntarily chuse Death before Life and do not you chuse Death before Life when you had rather forfeit your share in the Kingdom of Heaven than exceed the Scribes and Pharisees in their Righteousness Surely it must be a dismal and deplorable Condition when Men have flattered themselves all their Life time with hopes of entring into the Kingdom of Heaven to find themselves at last thrust out and may not this be the condition of some of you And is not the very possibility of it enough to oblige you to Purifie and
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
shalt die Have not Thousands and Thousands hoped so and yet been mistaken Away with these deluding hopes There is Death in the Pot. There is Ruin and Destruction and Plague and Hell and Misery in these Fancies and Imaginations God must be true to his Word and it is not all your Crys at last Lord Lord open to us that will help you or reverse your doom Heaven and Earth shall sooner Perish the Sun shall sooner fall from his Orb and all the Stars of Heaven drop out of their Sockets sooner than God will prove a Lyar. Let the Truth of the living God prevail with you and be persuaded to act like reasonable Creatures Nothing proclaims your unreasonableness more than to think God will save you whether you act according to his Word or no. Therefore whatever the World or your Flesh and Appetite may suggest that God will not be so severe as he hath said he will remember that he who hath conquered Death and Hell hath protested 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 Amen SERMON XX. St. Matth. Ch. v. Ver. 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 of Heaven THere is nothing more agreeable to Christianity than Liberty and yet there is nothing more contrary to it If by Liberty be meant a freedom from all sinful Courses from the Power of Corruption from the Bondage of the Devil and after all from those tedious external Washings Purifications Sacrifices and distinctions of Meats and Drinks c. so usual so famous so strictly required of the Jews under the Mosaick Law to this Liberty Christianity is a Friend a Patron and Defender and this is of the very Essence of our Religion But if by Liberty be understood Licentiousness and that which should be a modest Virgin is drawn and represented in the looser habit of a Strumpet and Men fancy they are and cannot be free except they have Elbow-room in Sin and may gratifie their Senses and carnal Desires as they please If this be the notion of Liberty Christianity is a professed Enemy to it and declares an Eternal War against it It is a very wilful and notorious mistake to think Christ came to free us from Obedience or that he descended from Heaven to loose us from the Bonds of our Duty so far from it that he came to require it upon greater Motives and enjoined it with greater Sanctions pressed Observance not only of the greater but lesser Commands and in case of failure declared that we shall find we have a God to deal with who will not be mocked for so it is in the Text Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least Commandements and shall teach Men so he shall be called the least c. To give you the sense of these words 1. By the Commandements here spoken of are meant the Commands and Precepts delivered and laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount both those that go before the Text and those that follow after it and therefore it is emphatically said these Commandements i. e. These I am now delivering to you and which lie so much out of the common road of Practice that few believe they are concerned in them 2. They are called little Commandements and the least not that any Command of God in Scripture is so in it self or in the nature of a Trifle but because they were so in the Opinion of the Scribes and Pharisees and the People of that Age who either called the Commandements of the Ceremonial Law the greatest and those of the Moral the least or if they allowed the Title of great Commands to any part of the Moral Law it was to such Commands as forbid the more scandalous and barbarous Sins i. e. Thou shalt do no Murther This they called a great Commandement but thou shalt not be angry with thy Brother without Cause nor revile him nor abuse him nor give him ill Names and opprobrious Language c. These they called little and the least Commands Counsels rather than Commands the Omission of which they thought would be no way prejudicial to the Eternal Welfare of their Souls 3. To break these little or least Commandements and to teach Men so was the Sin of the Pharisees who not only neglected these Commands of God themselves but taught others too not to discompose themselves about the neglect of them as long as they kept close to the bigger Commands such as Sacrificing Circumcision frequenting the Passover putting on their Phylacteries c. or such as enjoined forbearance of the Overt Acts of some notorious Sins Adultery Fornication Perjury Stealing c. And to break these Commandements is to slight them to disregard them to act contrary to them and wilfully to do what they forbid or wilfully to omit what they do enjoin 4. To be called or to be the least in the Kingdom of Heaven though this Phrase Matth. xi 11 is used to describe a Person that is an Infant a Babe a Novice a young beginner in Christ's Religion who is sensible and knows indeed that Christ's Kingdom is a spiritual Kingdom but knows it in a very low degree and is therefore said to be greater in some respect than St. John the Baptist who from the vulgar Error of his Country seem'd to cherish some relicks of that Opinion that the Messiah was to appear with External Pomp and marks of Authority But though this be the meaning of that Phrase there yet what is a Comparison in that Place is a Threatning here and therefore requires another Sense And it being spoken with Allusion to breaking these least Commandements and by way of Retaliation that as they sinn'd in that which was the least so they should be rewarded with being the least in the last day it must necessarily be as much as being excluded from the Kingdom of Heaven Whether by the Kingdom of Heaven we understand the Kingdom of Grace or the Kingdom of Glory And though the Church be sometimes called the Kingdom of Heaven as Matth. xiii Yet even in this Sense the Threatning will appear to be dismal enough for the meaning will be that such a one as breaks these least Commandements will be can be no true no living Member of the Church of Christ and if so he can be no Heir of the Kingdom of Glory And hence it is that St. Chrysostom renders the word least by no body or nothing i. e. He shall be nothing in the Kingdom of Heaven and will be a very despicable contemptible Creature when Christ shall come in Glory 5. And from hence it will be easie to guess what must be the import of the Promise that 's added here But whosoever shall do and teach
because it is not customary to do so it is not usual or other Men do not mind it And are these the mighty Reasons that satisfie your Conscience Will you dare to plead them in the last Day Will not you blush to alledge them before the Searcher of all Hearts I shall be counted a Coward saith the Man of Honour if I put up an Affront or do not return Evil for Evil. A wonderful Argument an Argument which a Philosopher would laugh at and a Christian ought to scorn Was there ever greater Cowardice than this returning Evil for Evil What not dare to obey your God whom you confess to be greater than the greatest Monarchs of the World What Not dare to consult the interest and welfare of your Souls above that of Flesh and Blood What Not dare to maintain a good Conscience in despight of all Opposition What afraid of transgressing a Punctilio of Honour when you run the hazard of Eternal Damnation Is this your Courage to be Slaves to a silly Lust and to crouch to a base Temptation of the Devil to tremble at the Censures of Dust and Ashes and to throw your selves headlong into the gulph of Perdition you 'll reply Who saith it is so dangerous Why Christ says so that Saviour whom you pretend to Worship and Adore for he hath prefix'd this general Item to all the Commands in this Sermon Whosoever shall break one of these least Commandments and shall teach Men so i.e. make a practice of it and delight in it he shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven i. e. he shall be nothing at all in that Kingdom And is this your Courage not to stand by your greatest Friend Is not Christ your greatest Friend Hath not he bought you with his Blood Hath not he laid down his Life for you to deliver you from the Wrath to come When you return Evil for Evil you forsake this Friend you dishonour him you abuse him and is it Courage not to dare to maintain the Cause of your dearest Friend Is it not far greater Courage to subdue a Passion than to fall under the Power and Tyranny of it Is it not greater Courage to overcome the Evil with Good than to be overcome with Evil Is it not more Heroick to assert the Honour and Glory of your Immortal Souls than to make them Drudges and Slaves to a brutish Inclination Who so fit to judge of Courage and Cowardice as God infinitely Wise and Knowing and if he calls returning Evil for Evil Cowardice will you call it Courage and put Darkness for Light and Light for Darkness Doth not he call it Cowardice when he looks upon it as a debasing of Reason dishonouring your Religion wronging your Conscience wounding your Souls disgracing your Profession and Disobedience to him who hath the greatest Right and Power to command you A Bull or a Boar can kick him again that kicks him And what Is there not greater Spirit in you than there is in such pitiful Animals Socrates a Heathen when one gave him a Box on the Ear replied merrily What a strange thing is it that a Man cannot go abroad without putting a Helmet on Can we read this of Barbarians and look upon our selves as civiliz'd who dare not come up to their Vertue Had you rather be no Christians than he counted Cowards Hath God exalted your Natures above that of irrational Creatures and is imitating Bears and Tygers the highest Dispensation you arrive to Another pleads My Neighbours will count me a Fool if I should not return Evil for Evil or rather than return an Injury suffer a greater This is much such a Plea as the former and it must be confess'd that this is the Wisdom of the Flesh and see here how contrary this Wisdom is to the Wisdom of God or to the Wisdom of the Spirit What is Wisdom Is it not to chuse proper Means to attain the end And will you take the way to Hell that you may get to Heaven Is it not Wisdom to foresee the Evil and to hide our selves from it Hath not God declar'd his Wrath and Indignation against this returning Evil for Evil and is it your Wisdom to run into the danger What if Men should count you Fools for minding the business of your Calling or providing for your Families Would you therefore neglect doing so because of that Censure And how come ye to despise the Censures of Men in one Duty and are afraid of doing it in another Is not forbearing to return Evil for Evil Railing for Railing ill Language for ill Language a Duty as much as providing for your Families Is it not commanded as much as labouring for a Livelihood And if to Obey God more than Men be Wisdom where lies the Folly in being obedient to the Will of God in this particular Which is better that God should count ye Fools or that Men should do it If it be better Men should have such Thoughts of you than God why cannot the determination of God make you resolute to undervalue these nick-names of malicious Persons God will certainly look upon you as wise Men if you are tender of the welfare of your Souls And since forbearing to return Evil for Evil is a certain sign that you have a tender regard to the happiness of your Souls what hurt do ye receive by Mens calling you a thousand Fools Men may be mistaken but God cannot and if Men call ye Fools for obeying the Gospel most certainly they are mistaken and will you be guided more by the inconsiderate Talk of loose rash and carnal Men than by the serious Resolution of that God who is to be the Judge of quick and dead Ay but if I do not return Evil for Evil wicked Men will trespass upon my Goodness And what if they do Is our Goodness the worse because it meets with frequent Trials Is not this the way to strengthen to confirm and to establish and to perfect it Let Patience have its perfect work saith St. James i. 4 If Mens trespassing upon our Goodness is subservient to the perfection of Grace how can we be losers by it Nay doth not the wicked Man lose more by his repeated Injuries than we by our repeated Patience Doth not his Soul gather greater Guilt and Blackness by it while our lasting and continu'd Patience makes our own brighter and more splendid And how do we know but our Patience under the first Injury may work upon the ill Man and oblige him to become Good by our Example and fright him from attempting any more However if it doth not it 's I that gather the Roses and the Bryars and Pricks fall to his share Once more Is there not a Promise made to the Patient Soul that God will stop the rage of her Enemies Do we believe this Promise and shall not we trust God for the peâ—formance of it And when he is ready to perform it to our Satisfaction shall we stop
Let 's earnestly labour after Perfection and that none may ask what Perfection is It is no other no less no meaner Perfection that what is pressed in the Text Be ye therefore perfect as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect This Perfection to give a fuller account of it relates 1. To the kinds of Graces 2. To the degrees of Grace 1. To the kinds of Graces Endeavour after Perfection appears in nothing so visibly as in our serious endeavours after the several Graces which make up the Wedding-Garment spoken of in the Gospel and the charming Ornament of Christ's Spouse Not only one but all must appear very lovely in our Eyes If one seems amiable and the rest are nauseated the Heart is not right with God We must not content our selves with being liberal to the Poor and Needy but Meekness and Humility and love of Enemies and overcoming the Evil with Good must be as heartily espoused as the other To this purpose is that Command of St. Peter 2 Pet. i. 5 Add to your Faith Vertue unto Vertue Knowledge unto Knowledge Temperance unto Temperance Patience unto Patience Godliness unto Godliness Brotherly-kindness and unto Brotherly-kindness Charity c. There is indeed a great stress on some particular Vertues and particularly on Almsgiving and there are such lofty things said of it that the unwary Reader will be apt to think he need do no more in order to Salvation But though God's special favour and esteem of such a Vertue is set down by way of Motive and Encouragement yet it 's certain it 's no where said that such a Vertue alone will suffice in order to eternal Happiness and when the rest are injoyn'd with as great severity as this it must necessarily follow that the rest are equally necessary The Pharisees indeed had an Opinion that if a Man did exercise himself in any one Command though he neglected the rest he would not fail of a blessed Portion in the Life to come But this plainly contradicts the Christians Rule which is Ye are my Friends if ye do whatsoever I command you John xv 14 and it 's to be fear'd that where the Obedience is partial the Plant cannot be or is not of our Heavenly Father's Planting The Stoicks which held that he who had one Vertue had all the rest were so far in the right that he who upon a good Principle out of love to Goodness applies himself to one Vertue is in a disposition to be Master of the rest if he pursues that Principle but to think that all the rest will fall in in course to him who by frequent acts shews he is pleased with one is what Experience confutes and Reason tells us cannot be except the same Industry be used to attain to the rest that was used in the pusuit of that we have made a considerable progress in 2. This Perfection must be seen in the degree of those Graces we are possessed of A lower degree must be raised into a higher Faith which is like a Grain of Mustard-see must be advanced into a spreading Shrub so must Hope so must Love so must Charity so must other Graces The Acts must be improv'd into Habits and the tender Plant must become Robust till it can bear the Injuries of Wind and Weather The beginnings of a Vertue are Incouragements to proceed in it he that doth not doth not grow strong in the Lord and consequently doth not endeavour after Perfection 3. This Perfection reaches farther yet even to doing of such things as are more perfect There are divers Actions which seem to have no great hurt in them and yet it is certainly a more perfect act to abstain from them This is to be observed particularly in Eating and Drinking in Dressing and Cloathing in Speeches and Discourses and Visits in Conversation and Company in Sports and Recreations c. Such a Jest eating of the other Dish drinking the third Glass playing for Company 's sake such a gaudy Dress c. may seem harmless but it is greater Perfection to forbear them so in doing good it is many times greater Perfection to do such an act of Charity than to forbear it In all which Cases a Christian who follows our Saviour's Rule in the Text will have a special regard to what is more perfect and therefore more pleasing to God In such Particulars as these consists the Christian Perfection which here we are exhorted to labour after but I can have but little hopes that you will exercise your selves toward this Perfection except you were very resolute to make use of the proper means which are these following 1. A mighty ambition after Spiritual things as great an ambition to be truly Good and Holy as others have to be rich and great in the World 2. A vigorous consideration of the future degrees of Glory according to the progress you make here He that meditates much of these degrees will find in himself a vehement desire after such degrees of Sanctity as the most perfect Persons have attain'd to 3. A fervent Love of the Lord Jesus such a Love as we find in St. Paul in St. John in Mary the Sister of Martha c. a love which must rise from the strong Impresses made upon the Soul by the Sufferings of Christ and his Love in descending from Heaven and dying for us 4. A lively representation of what God hath done for us both in Spirituals and Temporals for this will mightily inflame the Soul and put her upon doing any thing which he delights in 5. An attentive Consideration of the Title in the Text where God is called Our Father which is in Heaven an Epithet often repeated and therefore often to be thought of If we are his Children what should we do but imitate him that being the nature and duty of Children that do not bear that name in vain He is in Heaven this speaks his Greatness We see how Great Men prevail with us to do things even contrary to our Inclination And shall not he who is the greatest of all Influence our Resolution to be Perfect as he himself is Perfect Moreover he is in Heaven and from thence looks down upon us It is his condescension that he doth so and that condescention ought to be a Motive to this Perfection He looks down upon us to see how we improve our Talents if we do not he notes our Guilt in his Book where it will stand as a Witness against us And he is said to be in Heaven to let us see the place which we are to be receiv'd into if we be Perfect and truly endeavour after it Thither he intends to draw us to the same Kingdom where himself Reigns and where Christ our Head Reigns And is this no Argument to stir us up to this Perfection I do not mention Prayer as a means because we still suppose that what-ever helps we offer all are insignificant without fervent Prayer And thus we have chalk'd out